Cloud & Infrastructure
Virtual Desktop Hosting
Virtual desktop hosting delivers a full Windows desktop or published application from Mayer Networks' private cloud, so staff get the same secure workspace whether they are in the office, at another site or working remotely.
Who this fits
- Organizations with remote or hybrid staff
- Multi-location organizations that need identical workspaces everywhere
- Businesses whose applications perform better next to their data
- Organizations that want data to stay off local devices
The problems it removes
- Applications that run slowly over VPN because the data lives elsewhere
- Inconsistent desktops built one machine at a time
- Business data scattered across laptops
- Onboarding a new user taking days
What the platform covers
- Hosted Remote Desktop Services environments
- Published applications for specific workflows
- Central profile and data storage
- Secure remote access with MFA
- Backup of hosted desktop data
- Microsoft licensing for eligible workloads through SPLA
How a migration runs
Step 1
Assess
User count, applications, printing, peripherals and performance expectations are documented.
Step 2
Build
The hosted environment is created, applications installed, and access secured.
Step 3
Pilot
A small group validates real workflows including printing and scanning before broad rollout.
Step 4
Roll out
Users migrate in groups with support during the transition.
Where hosted desktops work, and what they demand
Hosted desktops suit organizations with multiple sites, staff who move between locations, seasonal or temporary workers, or a need to keep data off local machines entirely. They are also a way for an organization with an aging fleet of PCs to stop replacing hardware every three years.
They depend absolutely on connectivity, which is the part worth checking first at rural sites. Latency to a Carbondale host from Southern Illinois is short, which helps, but a site with one unreliable circuit needs a failover path before hosted desktops become the way people work. Printing and peripheral support deserve testing before rollout rather than after.
60 second video, captions available
A client on running desktops out of our datacenter
A Diederich decision-maker describes what changed after their desktops moved to Mayer Networks hosting: no server equipment on site, backups handled consistently, and software upgrades no longer their problem.
“It eliminates the need for costly server equipment to be on property.”
Client statement recorded on camera. Name and title are withheld pending the client’s written approval.
Read the transcript
One of the benefits of using Mayer Networks' remote desktop hosting services is it eliminates the need for costly server equipment to be on property. This offers many benefits, including a reduction of cost for the individual desktops, as most of the heavy lifting is done on Mayer Networks' side of the server.
Those benefits also include the ability for consistent backups in a secure environment and the elimination of us having to upgrade software repetitively. Those services are automatically and proactively provided by Mayer Networks and provide a significant benefit to our organization.
This is a configuration of Infrastructure as a Service
Hosted desktops and Remote Desktop Services are a configuration of Mayer Networks Infrastructure as a Service, not a separate platform. The IaaS page explains hosted desktops in context with application hosting, database proximity, multi-location access and the private cloud infrastructure underneath.
Infrastructure as a ServiceWhy Mayer Networks
- Desktops hosted next to the data and applications they use
- Consistent environment that is faster to support and secure
- Responsive remote and onsite support from engineers based in Southern Illinois, not a queue in another time zone.
- One organization accountable for support, engineering, security, infrastructure and communications.
Security considerations
- Data remains in the hosted environment rather than on local devices
- MFA required for remote access
- Central patching and endpoint protection of hosted systems
Do users need special computers?
No. Existing PCs, laptops and in some cases thin clients can connect to a hosted desktop.
Does printing work?
Yes, though printers and scanners are validated during the pilot because they are the most common source of surprises.
What happens if our internet fails?
Access requires connectivity. We plan redundancy for organizations that depend on hosted desktops.
Is this the same as Windows 365 or Azure Virtual Desktop?
The concept is similar. The difference is that Mayer Networks hosts and supports the environment on infrastructure we operate regionally.
Related services
- Cloud & InfrastructureInfrastructure as a Service (IaaS)Many organizations have already moved email, collaboration and files into modern cloud services, and still depend on applications that require Windows Server, SQL Server, Remote Desktop or traditional infrastructure. Mayer Networks provides managed private infrastructure in Carbondale so those systems keep running without the organization purchasing and maintaining another generation of physical server hardware.
- Cloud & InfrastructureCloud & InfrastructureMayer Networks uses two kinds of cloud together. Microsoft 365 carries email, files, collaboration and identity. Mayer Networks Cloud, our own private infrastructure in Carbondale, Illinois, carries the workloads that still require traditional servers: line-of-business applications, SQL databases, hosted desktops, legacy software and disaster recovery. Infrastructure as a Service is the service; the private cloud is the platform it runs on.
- Cloud & InfrastructureLegacy Application HostingMany organizations depend on software that cannot move to SaaS right now. Mayer Networks can host appropriate legacy applications in its private cloud so you can retire aging physical servers while you plan application modernization properly.
- CybersecurityMFA & Identity ProtectionIdentity is the modern perimeter. Mayer Networks implements multi-factor authentication, conditional access, privileged account separation and identity monitoring so a stolen password is not enough to enter your systems.
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