Soft cost savings, ease of use, accessibility, security, and productivity
In the world of high finance there is rarely a break in action. Safe, fiscally sound options for access are required to ensure that work can be done as quickly and efficiently as possible. Many firms, however, are intent to live and die by the spreadsheet attachment. With advancements in technology like Virtual Desktop Infrastructure, the finance world can take advantage of economical, accessible, secure and familiar software to keep things running as smoothly as possible. Here are five ways VDI can help finance professionals and firms.
What is Virtual Desktop Infrastructure
Imagine a world where the device you used had no effect on your usability. Your screen looked exactly like the one on your office computer regardless of the device you were using. It’s not the future. It’s VDI. Virtual Desktop Infrastructure is the process of hosting a “desktop” within a Virtual Machine (VM) located on a centralized server or servers. Essentially you can access all the information stored on the server in via your computer or mobile device. The information in the server is secure and allows centralized management.
Staff get quick and easy access to their personalized desktop from anywhere they have an internet connection so whether in the office, field, or at home they have access to the exact same applications, files, and data they would while in their office.
Significant Cost Savings - Hardware
A common line in business budgets is hardware. Professional staff, especially those in secure, fast fields like finance, need modern hardware with memory as well as security features. With VDI, workstations can be reduced to thin client terminals because the processing power for all of the staff’s terminals is in the back-end server. Instead of maintaining every terminal, only the server requires upkeep.
Significant Cost Savings - Soft Costs
VDI allows for greater productivity and efficiency across professionals in finance. Remote workers never have to return to the office to use a particular application or access a file, saving travel costs as well as time.
Likewise, if the server and IT team are hosted by a managed IT provider, soft cost savings increase. You will be saving in electricity bills, office space, and staff benefits, just to name a few.
Significant Cost Savings - Personnel
Financial institutions can focus resources, funds, and time to the work at hand and professional staff rather than support staff when using VDI because it truly allows for a streamlined IT department. In some cases, firms can save by partnering with managed IT services firms and only pay for exactly what they need rather than keeping on full or part time staff.
Streamline Management
VDI is best known for the simplicity and centralized management. This makes it a sound choice in finance where staff may require similar or few applications for everyday tasks.
In addition to the professional and support staff at the firm, tremendous savings are found from the IT department:
- There is no need to install updates on every desktop, just the image(s) on the server.
- There is far less time and money spent on travel because IT specialists do not need to go to multiple offices or the field to handle driver and application issues.
- There are less things to worry about. The IT team is in charge of only one or couple servers. This prevents compatibility problems, purchase duplicated licenses and installation problems.
Safe & Secure
When we cover technological solutions we always include a note on safety. Finance often deals with internal information and confidential client data. There may be concerns about this data being “out in the cloud” somewhere to be accessed remotely. One of the many advantages of VDI is that the virtual machine is housed on a centralized server, in house or in a secure datacenter, ensuring control of security.
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure makes sense in finance from both a technical and security standpoint.
