To meet the needs of an increasingly mobile workforce worldwide, Entisys360 has officially launched its first Workspace-as-a-Service (WaaS) product for mid-market customers.
Entisys360 Workspace Cloud is a fully-managed, subscription-based digital workspace for public and private cloud environments, allowing employees to securely access all the features of their desktops – files, apps, data and more – when they’re away from the office.
“Today’s workers are becoming increasingly mobile and want access to their desktops, applications and data from any device, on any network, located anywhere in the world,” Entisys360 CEO Mike Strohl said in a prepared statement. “This is driving IT organizations to restructure their operations in order to adapt to meet the needs of workers who are spending more than half of their time away from their desks.”
Entisys360, a Concord, California-based IT consulting firm and reseller, designed the WaaS product to replace antiquated virtual infrastructure technologies that are more complex to maintain and upgrade, among other drawbacks. The product is customizable and supports migration of on-premise apps to the cloud, Entisys360 says.
Designed for mid-market and enterprise customers, Entisys 360 Workspace Cloud was developed as part of the company’s cloud-first strategy.
WaaS Explained
Workspace-as-a-Service is a type of virtual desktop that allows employees to access all the features of their desktop from anywhere using any device, including laptops, smartphones and tablets. It is the next generation of Desktop-as-a-Service, designed to provide users with the same experience and ease of use as if they were in the office.
Waas is particularly attractive to companies with a large number of at-home or on-the-road workers, companies that are looking to increase telecommuting options, and those that hire a large number of seasonal employees who work remotely. It is also popular with companies who either don’t want to or can’t afford to manage their IT resources.
The Workspace-as-a-Service market is poised for growth. It will reach $9.41 billion by 2019, nearly double its $4.76 billion size in 2014, MarketsandMarkets predicts. The growth is driven by the popularity of bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies, as well as the need for reductions in capital expenditures, the market research report said.
Competition in the WaaS market continues to intensify. CloudJumper, for instance, this week introduced onboarding capabilities to help MSPs activate customers more rapidly. Other recent moves include Itopia scoring some funding and IndependenceIT launching a new partner program.
Multi-Cloud Approach
Entisys360, meanwhile, launched Workspace Cloud in response to customer demand. The desire for a cloud-based offering was prevalent, but the right solution didn’t exist, Strohl said. Competitors weren’t offering a hybrid cloud or private cloud WaaS.
What makes Entisys360’s Workspace-as-a-Service unique, Strohl said, is the multi-cloud approach: The platform works between clouds and on any cloud. And it is customized to meet the specific workflow needs of each customer, built with the customer’s unique business and financial goals in mind, he said.
“This is not just about customer demand or keeping costs down,” Strohl said. “IT customers demand products that help them grow business and revenues.”
Entisys360 was founded by Strohl’s father 29 years ago. The company had $300,000 in annual sales in 1994, the year his father died, and has since grown to more than $100 million annually. The 2007 acquisition of Agile360 expanded Entisys into Southern California.
Workspace Cloud is powered by core Citrix Systems technologies. Key partners also include HP, Cisco and Microsoft. Entisys360 has earned a long list of awards, including Citrix North America Partner of the Year for 2015 and RES Excellence Partner of the Year for 2015.
