Navigating the Challenges of VDI and DaaS and the Decision to Move On

How I started at Tehama

It all began with the announcement of Tehama Technologies spinning out of Pythian and the realization that technology collaborations were the key to addressing the challenges of high hardware and software costs associated with adopting traditional VDI or DaaS. As an advocate for a Hybrid architecture approach, it was clear that workspace transformation was crucial for enterprises to become agile and competitive in today's global economy.

But the industry was facing two core challenges: high hardware costs to update an antiquated architecture and high software costs to replace complex and poorly integrated solutions. These challenges had driven the evolution of end-user to compute requirements and influenced the design and capabilities of VDI and DaaS, but had also led to increased complexity and an inability for VDI or DaaS to reach critical mass in the industry.

That's when the visionary and founder behind Tehama, Paul Vallée , had a breakthrough. He realized that the workforce of the future would be global and would present challenges of complexity, security, and scale. And so, Tehama was designed to solve the challenge of orchestrating technologies to transform the digital workplace and meet the speed of innovation that enterprises demand in today's ever-changing business landscape.

But even as centralized compute versus distributed compute provided the best TCO and ROI, it still didn't address the physical control issues that arose from a distributed compute model. This was the problem that Tehama teamed up to solve with the new technology collaboration of Amazon Web Services (AWS) .

The collaboration was based on an unsecured endpoint connecting to a cloud-hosted Tehama Room and leveraged an "Uber-like approach" to solve the TCO problem. By effectively addressing TCO from time to implementation and time to value, organizations were able to get business professionals to productivity faster. And the results spoke for themselves.

Through the use of Tehama on AWS, organizations have been able to improve their workspace transformation and become more agile and competitive in today's global economy. They've been able to reduce the burden of patch management, server hardening, and hosting, and have seen a significant reduction in TCO. And with the continued growth of cloud, mobile, and social technologies, the adoption of this hybrid approach is set to become the standard over the next decade.

Then it Hit?- The Gift horse

The outbreak of the coronavirus in late 2019 had a significant impact on businesses with both local and/or overseas operations. The?world government's implementation of massive quarantines, while dividing experts in terms of its effectiveness, had a negative economic impact on organizations with operations in the affected area. Many were forced to halt operations or restrict employee travel. Knowledge workers in the quarantine zone were told to work from home indefinitely. This sudden shift to remote work highlighted the vulnerability of businesses without emergency plans in place to handle such situations.

The World Economic Forum ’s 2020 Global Risks Report stated that "No country is fully prepared to handle an epidemic or pandemic," and that “our collective vulnerability to the societal and economic impacts of infectious disease crises appears to be increasing.” This vulnerability was clearly demonstrated in the way businesses were affected by the coronavirus outbreak.

The cost of being unprepared for such an emergency is significant. According to ready.gov, three-quarters of organizations without an emergency plan will likely have failed within three years of a major disaster. Medium-sized businesses that close or halt operations due to disasters lose an average of $23,000 per day. The coronavirus outbreak served as a stark reminder of the importance of emergency preparedness for businesses.

In short, the coronavirus outbreak of 2019 highlighted the vulnerability of businesses without emergency plans in place and the significant cost of being unprepared for such emergencies. In order to minimize the impact of future emergencies, it's crucial for organizations to identify potential risks and develop emergency plans to address them, including enabling remote work in case of an emergency.

Was this the Fabled Year of VDI? What I observed During the last 3 years and what drives me now?

As organizations adjust to a post-Covid 19 economy dominated by hybrid, cross-border workforces, the use of outdated legacy end-user computing (EUC) solutions, and strategies has become increasingly apparent. The negative effects of continuing to use legacy virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), desktop-as-a-service (DaaS), or virtual private network (VPN) solutions have been observed in many organizations.

One of the most significant observations is the increase in IT support costs and larger IT headcounts. Legacy EUC solutions often require costly maintenance and specialized IT resources, which can strain an organization's budget and resources. Traditional VDI and DaaS like Citrix or VMware also require significant investments in hardware infrastructure which must be maintained, upgraded, and eventually replaced. This can lead to a lack of flexibility and slow-to-value solutions that inhibit growth.

Another key observation is the complexity of managing licensing agreements among several different service providers. Legacy systems require additional tools for identity access management, vendor automation workflows, network segmentation, security, and compliance, which also adds technical complexity. This can lead to a lack of efficiency and an increased risk of security breaches.

Moreover, the lack of flexibility in legacy EUC solutions has been observed in the event of disruptions, disasters, and other emergencies. Organizations need the ability to deploy and scale EUC solutions on a dime in the face of fast-moving potential global economic risks, political instability, security threats, and even military conflicts. However, legacy solutions have difficulties meeting modern business continuity (BC) and disaster recovery (DR) standards.

Lastly, Security is about Data, not the Network

Security is about the data, not the network. This statement may seem counterintuitive, but it's becoming increasingly clear that traditional data loss prevention methods are no longer enough to keep sensitive information secure. In today's fast-paced, data-driven world, organizations need to shift their focus from protecting the network to protecting the data itself.

Data loss prevention (DLP) and data loss protection (DLP) are often used interchangeably, but they have distinct meanings. DLP focuses on detecting and preventing sensitive data exfiltration, while DLP is about protecting sensitive data as it flows between different organizations and systems of record.

DLP tools, such as email scanning software and firewalls, serve an important purpose but they don't fully protect against accidental or malicious data loss or leakage. Users can still download sensitive documents to their local or personal devices, and employees can leave the organization with data still on their computers. This is a major blind spot when it comes to safeguarding company intellectual property and other sensitive information.

Data loss protection, on the other hand, shines a light on this blind spot by providing full visibility into all of an organization's data, including where it lives, whom it's shared with, and how it moves between organizations and systems. This holistic approach to data security provides a way to protect against data breaches, accidental data loss, and malicious actors.

?The toughest competitor is the two wolves' “latent pain” it’s too complex or costs too much.?

I have spent the past few years working tirelessly to convince customers to make the switch from their legacy virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) to our cutting-edge offering. However, despite our best efforts, we have encountered a number of obstacles that have prevented many of our potential customers from making the move.

One of the biggest obstacles we have encountered is the fact that many customers are still spending a significant amount of time and resources managing their VDI infrastructure. Whether it's maintaining hardware, conducting regular updates and maintenance, or dealing with the complexities of licensing agreements, the in-house IT teams of many organizations are stretched thin by the demands of VDI.

Another obstacle we have encountered is the fact that many customers are managing multiple vendors and solutions in order to enable and secure remote work. This can be a daunting task, as it requires aligning multiple-point solutions to communicate effectively, which adds a level of complexity to the administration process.

Finally, we have found that many customers are struggling to be agile with their VDI solutions. Legacy VDI can limit the ability of teams to scale resources based on fluctuations in demand, which can be a major obstacle for organizations that utilize contract resources or temporary project teams.

Despite these obstacles, I believe that Work over IP is the future of work, and I am proud of the progress Tehama has made in helping organizations streamline their onboarding, distributed developers, remote call centers, and more.

As a co-founder of Tehama, which has been at the forefront of the technology industry for many years, it is with mixed emotions that I announce my departure from Tehama. As many of you know, the past decade has brought about significant changes in the way we work and the tools we use to do so. The need for secure and compliant virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) solutions has become more pressing than ever before.?

So with that now underway, I am excited to announce that I will be moving on to pursue a new venture in the next phase of End User computing. The past decade has brought about significant advancements in technology, and I believe that the future of end-user computing lies in the utilization of CDI in Any cloud or On-premise.

The traditional virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), desktop-as-a-service (DaaS) leveraging only virtual machines, and virtual private network (VPN) solutions that we have been accustomed to are no longer sufficient in meeting the needs of today's hybrid and cross-border workforce. The security and compliance concerns that come with these legacy solutions are becoming increasingly important in today's digital landscape.

I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with a dedicated team who shares my vision for the future of end-user computing. I have full confidence that my colleagues will continue to drive the Tehama forward and continue to provide innovative solutions to meet the needs of our clients. My decision to transition to CDI?in the cloud is a natural next step in meeting the evolving needs of our customers and staying ahead of the curve in an ever-changing technological landscape.

I look forward to the new challenges and opportunities that lie ahead in this exciting field and I hope to continue to contribute to the advancement of end-user computing.?