UK DaaS adoption surpasses the US

The report also uncovered that in a world where IT teams often struggle to secure buy-in from the C-suite, prioritising a DaaS transition may serve as a catalyst for broader digital transformation initiatives. Serving as a testament to this, a staggering 77% of UK IT leaders report that their leadership teams are more willing to invest in new technologies after a successful DaaS rollout.

In the UK, an overwhelming 82% of organisations now utilise virtual desktops, with the majority (42%) opting for cloud VDI or DaaS solutions, while only 12% rely solely on an on-premises setup, and 38% choose a hybrid approach. In stark contrast, whilst 85% of companies in the US use virtual desktops, just 38% report having a fully cloud VDI or DaaS setup.

In addition to helping with getting buy-in from the C-suite, the research — which gathered the insight of over 1,000 IT leaders across the UK, US, Australia, and New Zealand — uncovered a series of other primary motives for migrating to a cloud VDI or DaaS setup:

Reducing risk of suffering a data breach - 76%

Reducing carbon footprint of the business - 76%

Reducing costs - 81%

Making flexible working easier - 86%

Better productivity - 85%

The global virtual desktop infrastructure market size and share revenue are estimated to surpass $50.5 billion by 2030 — a staggering 20.3% compound annual growth rate between 2023 and 2030, according to Zion Market Research.

While cost, flexibility, and productivity are well-known benefits of cloud VDI/DaaS, Nerdio's research has shed light on the sustainability value that a cloud setup offers. With 52% of UK IT leaders feeling increased pressure from senior management to ensure sustainable IT practices compared to two years ago, awareness of this benefit is crucial as it provides a clear option to alleviate that strain.

Notably, 68% of UK IT leaders stated that a DaaS model is helping or would help their organisation meet its sustainability goals, and 67% reported that being able to demonstrate a shift towards more sustainable IT practices would even benefit their careers as IT leaders.

However, it appears that the US is currently more advanced in terms of carbon emission awareness, with 48% indicating that they measure cloud-related carbon emissions and shift workloads accordingly, compared to just 34% in the UK.

Make-A-Wish UK, through its adoption of Nerdio Manager for Enterprise, has been able to decrease its energy consumption, making volunteer setup two-thirds more energy efficient. It also reduced its Azure bill by 40% a month thanks to Nerdio’s Auto-scaling capabilities.

Oliver Wilson, Technology & Workplace Lead at Make-A-Wish UK, said, “We wanted to implement a BYOD/thin client strategy as part of our digital transformation effort to better enable and empower our amazing volunteers to fulfill the Make-a-Wish mission in a safe, secure, reliable way.

“As a not-for-profit, we’re always looking for ways to do more with less. The less we spend on IT infrastructure, hardware, and software, the more we can put towards granting the wishes of the over 60,000 children in the UK diagnosed with a critical condition. Nerdio Manager for Enterprise is an irreplaceable tool in our stack that consistently pays for itself and saves us money across the organisation.”

Joseph Landes, CRO of Nerdio, said: “The rapid adoption of DaaS in the UK is a testament to the transformative power of cloud technology. Amidst a challenging economic climate, it’s vital that IT leaders are able to streamline infrastructure, continue to facilitate flexible work, address carbon emissions, and protect their systems from attacks. DaaS is paving the way for a more efficient, productive, and sustainable future for businesses across a vast array of industries."