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IT giant Cisco has unveiled a new Desktop as a Service (DaaS) solution that the company says adds agile, cloud-based desktop virtualization solutions to its existing desktop virtualization product portfolio.

With this DaaS solution, Cisco says cloud providers can offer their business customers scalability, security, performance and efficiency. At the same time, these providers gain management tools, licensing components and the ability to deliver desktops to multiple customers from one platform. The Cisco DaaS solution is designed to provide fast, easy and economical entry for cloud providers to this rapidly growing market and brings new service and revenue opportunities.

For business customers, the solution aims to provide increased choice and flexibility. Customers can choose to build their own on-premises desktop virtualization solution or buy a cloud-based, as-a-service solution, with Cisco Powered performance, scalability, and security.

Cisco has improved its underlying desktop virtualization solution to deliver greater scalability and performance, optimized cost, and wider client use-case support for DaaS deployments through: improved density of hosted virtual desktops, offering up to 252 virtual desktops on a single UCS blade server; support for end-user applications that require high-quality rendering of immersive, 3D graphics; and new UCS Solution Accelerator Packs for Desktop Virtualization, providing simplified ordering.

Cisco says these enhancements benefit both on-premise and cloud-based (DaaS) implementers and end users.

“Many organizations are looking for ways to achieve the benefits of desktop virtualization without the need to install and maintain equipment or make capital investments,” said Satinder Sethi, vice president, engineering, Cisco. “Not only is Desktop as a Service a great solution for a growing number of companies, but Cisco’s offering is uniquely architected to help cloud service providers achieve rapid time-to-market while economically scaling their business.”

The solution includes deployment options from ecosystem partners Desktone by VMware, and Citrix,  and is available through partners including ChannelCloud, Logicalis, Proxios, Netelligent, and Quest in the Americas; Dimension Data in APJC; and Adapt and ANS Group in EMEAR.

“This pairing of Cisco infrastructure design with Citrix DaaS products/architecture ensures a stable, scalable, economical solution for DaaS service providers,” said Ken Oestreich, senior director of product marketing for desktops & apps, Citrix.

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