MTN Business announces Desktop as a Service

MTN Business announces the launch of Desktop as a Service (DaaS). In line with Gartner’s predication that the worldwide hosted virtual desktop market will increase through 2013, reaching 49 million units, this launch by MTN Business will now provide all desktop services virtually through the cloud.

Say’s Justin Colyn, general manager of Fixed Mobile Convergence at MTN Business; “Through this offering, MTN Business is addressing the biggest concerns that businesses have today; that of safe, cost effective ICT solutions. MTN DaaS offers customers a complete service that not only makes commercial sense, as it requires little reconfiguration, should there be changes to the organisation in the desktop environment, but delivers full security and limited IT maintenance – as the solution is hosted in the cloud.”

According to a study undertaken by Gartner, on average, companies spend up to $7 000 per PC per year on operating costs, where 77% of this is on service and support alone. “These figures strongly suggest that traditional desktop PCs are an expensive capital outlay for a business, even if they are a necessary one. Furthermore, what elevates concerns for organisations is not merely the rising cost, but the heightened security risks that this digital environment brings with it, as often critical company information is lost when a computer crashes or is misplaced or stolen – and we know that managing the complexity of this information can be very overwhelming to companies,” says Colyn.

“Through using MTN DaaS these costs and concerns can be significantly reduced. In fact, through our own research, we have discovered that MTN DaaS can assist businesses in saving between R60 000 – R70 000 per employee over a three year period. What’s more, MTN DaaS can also assist a business in promoting a greener framework, as currently each PC user consumes between 360 to 500 watts per hour. By implementing MTN DaaS into a business model, this can be condensed down to 4 to 12 watts of power per user/hour – a massive power saving.”

Considering the benefits of cost, security and ongoing limited maintenance and the fact that this solution can co-exist with traditional desktops, MTN DaaS will fast gain popularity among enterprises. Concludes Colyn; “This DaaS solution forms a crucial part of MTN Business’s ICT roadmap and 360 degree communication service offering to our customers. We look forward to the prospects that this solution will hold for our customers.”