Hosted desktops, the way of the future?

The IT industry is abuzz with talk about cloud computing at the moment, this really is a hot topic of conversation and many people are feeling that this is the future of business networks. From my feedback on the system so far, I would agree. I work for an IT Support company and we are currently in the final stages of testing our Hosted desktop solution and I can tell you that this is definitely the way forward for business to work, it makes you realise that the existing way of working in a local network is quite primitive and that we should all be thinking about moving to a platform that provides a smarter way of working.

So why would you consider moving to a hosted network?
Well that question is quite easy to answer. One of the best reasons I could give is the fact that it is cost effective, and in these current times that can only be a good thing, when I say cost effective, I mean the following:

No initial hardware layout costs.
Everything is hosted on a cloud network so you can say goodbye to your servers!!! You only need a basic machine to work on a cloud network, thin clients are a popular choice already. Remember that you will also save money on your electric bills as you will not have a server/servers running 24/7 in your office!!

Applications available on a pay as you go basis.
This is a great feature of a hosted solution, applications can be installed as and when you need to use them, and you only pay for the apps you are using. If you no longer require the application, you simply request for it to be uninstalled. This saves a lot of money you would usually spend out on software that goes out of date in two years time. Pay as you go software is the way of the future.
Another great thing about using a hosted desktop is that all of the software gets automatically updated so you do not incur any upgrade costs which again, save you money.

Much more practical.
Access your desktop from anywhere in the world that has internet access. And remember, you are not accessing your desktop at your office; all of your data is stored on a cloud network meaning that it will be available to you 100% of the time. Gone are the days of dialling onto your Pc at work, which is old school.
So far the customers that have used the system love it, and they can be a fussy bunch!!!

Resources.
IT Support Essex based company that I work for. We are now supplying hosted desktop solutions and so far they have proved very popular.