SYN118 - Desktop as a ServicePerils and Payoffs of an Outsourced DaaS Initiative

May 8th 4:00PM Ballroom E

Paul StanselSenior Engineering AdvisorAetna

Before We Get Started…

Tweet about this session with hashtag #SYN118 and #CitrixSynergy

Introduction

In 2012, Aetna began a major initiative to look at Desktop as a Service (DaaS) with a goal of a platform that was: • Resilient• Easily expandable• Cost effective Today, we will discuss the growing pains involved in DaaS both from our experience and the industry as a whole.

Who Am I?

Architect and implementer of Aetna’s 40,000 seat internal XenApp/XenDesktop platformLead SME for Aetna’s 15,000 seat DaaS design17 years working with Citrix productsAuthor and editor Owner of CitrixTips.com

Your Takeaways Today

What is DaaS?Why did Aetna want to implement a DaaS program?What are some options for hosted DaaS?5 keys we found to picking your DaaS providerWhy we kept our DaaS in house and on site!

What is Desktop as a Service?

This is Your VDI…

This is Your VDI on DaaS!

Any Questions?

At the most fundamental level DaaS is a Windows desktop you pay someone else to provide. DaaS is just a business decision.

“IDC expects the desktop-as-a-service market to grow to a healthy $661 million by 2016…”

- Brett Waldman, IDC Analyst

What is DaaS?

What DaaS Isn’t

DaaS is not Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) unless you pay for it to beDaaS is not a security toolDaaS is not always easier than doing it yourselfDaaS is not necessarily cheaper… it is however a different kind of cost

DaaSUser

Domain

Application

Database

Flavors of DaaS

When you talk to a DaaS provider these are the 3 “flavors” they are going to try and sell you:

User

User

User

UserUser

User

User

DaaS’d if You do DaaS’d if You Don’t

SPLA – Service Provider License Agreement only covers Server OS!

So How do I get VDI?

The only licensed option to do a VDI setup in a DaaS implementation is to BYOL (Bring Your Own License).

Microsoft requires you to maintain hardware separation if you want to BYOL. That means separating storage, servers, etc;

So What About Licensing BYOD?

You need a VDA license. The only devices exempt from the VDA license requirement are corporate owned and managed Windows devices. Everything else needs one.

To Summarize Licensing

Microsoft doesn’t allow SPLAs to provide Desktop OSesSPLA for Office only applies on Server OSesBYOL requires you to use your own license infrastructure and maintain complete hardware isolationOnly corporate owned Desktops have the requisite VDA license as part of SLAEverything else is going to cost you PER DEVICEContact your Microsoft rep for additional licensing information

Aetna’s Path to DaaS

Reduce costs Speed to deploymentDisaster RecoveryBurst growth supportSeamless integration

As a project team beginning in 2012 we were tasked to find a DaaS solution that met the following goals:

So Is DaaS Cheaper?

IT DEPENDS

Speed to Deployment

Can purchase based on capacity requirements at a given point in timeDon’t have to buy in bulk for capacity requirements 6 months out just to get a better priceNew technologies can be rapidly deployed on the DaaS infrastructure without impact to the production environment

DaaS as a Disaster Recovery Tool

Lack an existing DR for your VDI? DaaS might fit the bill!

Fixed monthly costsEconomies of scaleOn or off site DRKnow your users!

Seasonal or Burst Growth

Year round infrastructure is a waste of resources Burst or seasonal growth Overflow of internal infrastructureM&A SupportLimited time frame projects

Seamless Integration

Worked within Aetna’s existing processes and proceduresCould be presented at the user level seamlesslyDid not require a radical architecture changeFit the continued goals we had around virtualization as a whole

The Major Players in 2014

Citrix Service Provider Program

DaaS providers that choose to be a part of the CSP programCSPs extend their SPLA features with Citrix products and special licensing Subject to SPLACitrix + service provider working in concertValidated designs from Citrix

Citrix Workspace Services

http://workspace.citrix.com

VMWare Horizon DaaS

Based on the Desktone acquisitionRuns on VMware’s vCloud serviceAllows for a hybrid hosting solution of on and off premise desktopsSupports BYOL Single provider vs multiple technologies

Amazon WorkSpaces

2012 R2 Server desktops (SPLA)Basic and Performance desktop option “Fully managed” in that they turn on auto update for youXenDesktop/XenApp 7.5 allow direct provisioning on AWS

5 Keys to Pick Your Provider

1) What are you getting?2) What are their SLAs?3) Where are they located?4) Do you have the right to audit?5) How flexible are they?

Why We Chose a Different Road

How We Overcame the DaaS GapThe first step in designing the appropriate DaaS solution is to prioritize your goals. Most important to us was the lack of user impact.

Given our applications and data requirements the only solution was an on-premises DaaS environment.

When DaaS Becomes IaaS

Desktop as a Service very quickly became Infrastructure as a Service!

But who owns what?

Pros and Cons of On Premise DaaSPros

Still get a per seat costStill can offload support and infrastructure management to a 3rd partyCan grow at the pace you dictate3rd party expertise for new initiativesLocal connection between the desktop and appsGives you segregation from any other DaaS client

ConsRequires good management and division of labor to actually save on soft costsYou have to have the space to provideRequires a vendor willing to be flexible in the configuration and supportForecasting is MUCH more importantYour infrastructure changes are THEIR infrastructure changes

Lessons Learned

Define your rolesTest and test againMap out technology differencesMarketing is important

How Successful is our Daas Initiative?

23,000 in-house VDI we own and manage15,000 DaaS VDI to provide new capacity and DR infrastructure Integrated XenDesktop 7.1 farms with management scopes defined for each supporting groupActive user migration process to reduce the size of in-house managed VDI through 2016

The Future of DaaS?

My best guess…More hybrid solution focusDemand for Microsoft to change their licensing modelDaaS quickly fades to a component of IaaS for large corporationsThe gradual decoupling of the apps from the desktop pushes us into a whole new model

WWMD - What Will Microsoft Do?

Google “Project Mohoro” for Microsoft DaaS referencesBest guess – Will follow the model of VMware only with HyperV and allow Citrix integration

Other Resources

http://blogs.citrix.com/tag/desktop-as-a-service/

http://blogs.forrester.com/category/daas

http://workspace.citrix.com

Questions?Contact info:Paul@paulstansel.comhttp://citrixtips.com@pstansel

©2014 Aetna Inc. All rights reserved.

Before you leave…

Conference surveys are available online at www.citrixsynergy.com starting Thursday, May 8 at 9:00 a.m. Provide your feedback by 6:00 p.m. that day to be entered to win one of many prizes!

Download presentations starting Monday, May 19, from your My Event Planning Tool