Welcome to the Desktop and Application Streaming Blog

Welcome to the Desktop and Application Streaming blog!

Managing corporate desktops and applications is hard, and it’s been getting harder for a long time. If you’re responsible for providing desktops and applications to end users you know what I mean. When we talk with customers, we see a repeated pattern of challenges in delivering and supporting traditional desktops and applications in the cloud and mobile era. End users have gotten used to a world where they have their own devices that give them access to an almost unlimited set of apps and sites from anywhere, and they bring those expectations from home to work. Set against a backdrop of ever increasing security threats and continued pressure on costs, those expectations often run into a brick wall in the office. The reality is that businesses can’t accept the level of security risk, data leakage, cost, or wide range of support obligations that individuals chose to accept on their personal devices. That’s why even with software-as-a-solution (SaaS) applications and bring your own device (BYOD), we still have Windows laptops, virtual private networks (VPNs), corporate wide area networks (WANs), Active Directory, virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), and mobile device management (MDM).

So, the challenge facing desktops and applications today is how to bridge the gap between end user expectations of remote access, device choice, and open access, with traditional corporate controls. While it’s possible to spend the money, time, and resources to solve that challenge yourself by stitching together a wide range of solutions and offerings for your end users, it’s incredibly complex and incredibly expensive. That’s why we launched Amazon WorkSpaces and Amazon AppStream 2.0. These services let you secure and manage your applications, desktops, and data together on AWS, while delivering them to users with a highly responsive experience on a wide range of devices in a wide range of locations. More importantly, they let you do that from the cloud without having to build, maintain, and scale your own global infrastructure. Of course, they also provide all of the benefits our customers have come to expect from the AWS Cloud, including pay-as-you-go pricing, no commitments, scaling on demand, automation through APIs, and global scale. Our customers tell us that applying these AWS Cloud benefits to desktop and applications is refreshing and disruptive compared to the cost and complexity of setting up on-premises solutions.

The impact of the change from on-premises desktops and applications to cloud-based solutions is clear when we talk to customers. Look at how Endemol Shine Nederland uses WorkSpaces, and AVEVA uses AppStream 2.0

Endemol Shine Nederland uses WorkSpaces with their part-time and temporary workers across 30 countries. As Leon Backbier, IT Manager, says:

“With WorkSpaces, we can provide new workers with a Windows desktop and the applications they need within hours instead of days. WorkSpaces makes it easy for workers to use their preferred device and for Endemol Shine Nederland to maintain our security requirements. Because WorkSpaces is cost effective and requires no upfront payment, we have been able to save 30 percent of our desktop operations costs and 70 percent on capital expenditure.”

AVEVA uses AppStream 2.0 to deliver instant access to AVEVA Everything3D (E3D) in its on-demand self-training platform, AVEVA Experience anytime, anywhere, on any device. AS Patrick Pando, VP Cloud Sales says:

“We needed a way for our customers to train new users, retain their essential skills, and learn new skills with E3D. With 4,000+ customers across the globe, we had to standardize our training experience, and ensure it could be securely delivered to any engineer. We knew the cloud was the best way to deliver this, and with AppStream 2.0 we can configure a single instance of E3D and deliver it to any number of engineers training with AVEVA Experience anywhere in the world. Because AppStream 2.0 runs inside their browser, customers don’t need to worry about configuring and securing their computers or network. They can immediately start learning E3D with a responsive, fluid experience that is indistinguishable from a native installation on a workstation.”

In this blog, we’ll show you unique use cases, review best practices, showcase how customers are using our services, dive deep on technical topics, and help you get started with new feature launches. We hope you’ll come back often.

– Nathan