The Gartner DaaS Magic Quadrant for 2023 is here, offering a valuable overview of the key players in the “desktop as a service” landscape. According to Gartner, the DaaS market is growing rapidly as companies transition traditional “VDI” offerings into the cloud.
Hybrid and remote work continues to elevate the need for flexible cloud-based technologies, and DaaS vendors offer a range of benefits to organizations, from cost savings to decreased downtime.
By 2027, Gartner predicts spending in the DaaS space will grow to $4.6 billion, with a CAGR of 10%. Notably, the analyst also believes 80% of all DaaS purchases by 2026 will comprise of vendor-assembled or vendor-managed solutions.
Gartner’s insight into the 14 leaders, challengers, and niche players in this industry offers business buyers a fantastic overview of the most impressive options for DaaS investment.
Gartner’s Definition of DaaS (Desktop as a Service)
Before we evaluate the 14 key vendors in this year’s Gartner DaaS Magic Quadrant, it’s worth examining how the industry analyst defines “DaaS.” Gartner describes DaaS as the provision of virtual desktops by a service or public cloud provider.
The analyst notes DaaS solutions empower workplace leaders to provide desktop and application end-user experiences from virtual machines accessed via a remote display protocol.
Vendors in this space incorporate fully managed control solutions into their offerings, allowing for easy configuration and management. With DaaS, employees can access apps and desktops from anywhere without storing sensitive data on an outside endpoint.
DaaS technologies enable the centralized management of virtual machines and can provide companies with access to tools for automating and enhancing operations.
Must-have capabilities include:
- A cloud control plane maintained and managed by the vendor
- Connectivity to virtual machines hosted by the vendor or in the cloud
- Vendor services for the creation of virtual machines
- Remote desktop protocols for secure access to desktops or applications
- Tools for the management of users, resources, and assignments
- Integration with identity and access management tools
- Cost and usage reporting and analytics
The 2023 Gartner DaaS Magic Quadrant Leaders
The Gartner DaaS Magic Quadrant typically splits vendors into four distinct sections. However, no vendors are included in the “visionaries” quadrant this year. The “leaders” in the Gartner “MQ” are innovators with a clear understanding of market trends and opportunities. They have an exceptional market share and support many use cases. This year’s leaders are:
- Microsoft
- Citrix
- VMWare
Microsoft
The Azure Virtual Desktop, Windows 365, and Microsoft Dev Box solutions offer companies vendor-assembled and self-assembled DaaS options. According to Gartner, Microsoft benefits from a phenomenal global scale and a solid existing architecture. The Microsoft 365 ecosystem, combined with Microsoft’s extensive partner ecosystem, makes it a strong competitor in DaaS. However, Gartner does note that many large-scale deployments require the use of third-party management tools.
Citrix
Currently moving through a rapid period of growth, Citrix offers self-assembled, vendor-managed, and vendor-assembled DaaS solutions. Gartner notes Citrix can support various cloud vendors and on-premises deployments from a single cloud control panel. The company also offers a wide range of optimizations to support scaled deployments. Plus, it delivers high-fidelity employee experiences with real-time audio, video, and rich graphics. However, some Citrix clients aren’t entirely happy with the recent company licensing structure changes.
VMWare
The VMWare Horizon Cloud offers a fantastic self-assembled DaaS solution that integrates with various vendors’ cloud infrastructure services. VMWare benefits from a comprehensive range of APIs for simplified automation and integrations. Plus, the company supports multiple cloud configurations for companies with remote and hybrid workers. However, VMWare releases fewer features per year than other vendors in the Leaders quadrant.
The 2023 Gartner DaaS Magic Quadrant Challengers
Challengers in the Gartner DaaS Magic Quadrant exhibit an excellent set of technologies and strong marketing and sales strategies. However, their solutions will likely be tailored to specific market segments and use cases. Gartner has only listed two vendors in its Challengers quadrant this year:
- Amazon Web Services
- ATSG
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
AWS offers Amazon Workspaces Core, Amazon Workspaces Web, and Amazon AppStream 2.0, giving companies a range of self-assembled and vendor-assembled DaaS solutions. Gartner commends the flexibility of Amazon’s offerings, which include both a service and a platform for developing services. The company also benefits from vast global coverage and access to various strategic enterprise partnerships. Notably, though, the AWS DaaS offerings can be complex for beginners.
ATSG
The ATSG Cloud PC offering includes both application and desktop virtualization features and a vendor-managed DaaS solution. According to Gartner, ATSG has outperformed other vendors in terms of integrations with service assurance and digital employee experience technologies. ATSG also offers fantastic solutions for maintaining strong compliance standards. However, ATSG relies heavily on virtual desktop-brokering technology from Citrix.
The 2023 Gartner DaaS Magic Quadrant Niche Players
For the initial 2023 Gartner DaaS Magic Quadrant, all other vendors are positioned in the “niche player” segment. Niche players exhibit leadership in specific use cases and verticals; however, they may not offer features relevant to all buyers. This year’s niche players include:
- Dizzion
- Alibaba Cloud
- IronOrbit
- Flexxible
- Workspot
- Frame Platform
- Apporto
- Anunta
- Oneclick
Dizzion
Offering DaaS managed DaaS and compliant managed DaaS solutions, Dizzion focuses heavily on small to midsized enterprises worldwide. The company excels in automation, with a self-developed management plane and tools that require minimal computing resources. Additionally, the brand benefits from a resilient and highly trustworthy desktop as a service offering. However, the company has a slightly smaller operation team than leading DaaS vendors.
Alibaba Cloud
The innovators at Alibaba Cloud offer the WUYING Workspace service (previously the Elastic Desktop Service). This vendor-assembled solution is available globally, but most of Alibaba’s clients are located in Asia. Gartner commends Alibaba’s complete architectural stack and end-to-end approach to developing unique IP solutions. Plus, this DaaS offers fantastic service levels and in-depth experience analytics. However, global adoption of the platform is somewhat slow.
IronOrbit
The INFINITY Workspaces offering from IronOrbit provides vendor-managed DaaS solutions primarily focused on high-performance computing use cases. The brand offers a wide selection of services for provisioning, lifecycle management, and business continuity. IronOrbit focuses heavily on GPU-enabled virtual desktops with exceptional disaster recovery tools. Gartner does acknowledge that the vendor has limited adoption outside of North America.
Flexxible
Offering the FlexxDesktop service for vendor-assembled and vendor-managed DaaS, Flexxible targets North America, Europe, Latin America, and India. Flexxible stands out for its unique experience-level agreements, designed to enhance user experience. Additionally, Flexxible’s architecture includes a platform with APIs allowing extensive customization. Client awareness of Flexxible is relatively low, however, and the company doesn’t offer application management tools.
Workspot
With self-assembled DaaS solutions available for all major cloud platforms, Workspot offers a globally available service for companies in all industries. The brand has developed its DaaS offering to support a hybrid and multi-cloud architecture. It also provides extensive support for business operations, including security ops and network ops. Gartner notes, however, that Workspot struggles with underperforming unified communications optimization.
Frame Platform (Dizzion-Frame)
Frame’s vendor-assembled DaaS solution can operate on various cloud environments. The technology is popular among companies that invest heavily in high-performance computing. As of 2023, Dizzion’s owner, LLR Partners, acquired Frame, creating the Dizzion-Frame company. Frame’s platform benefits from high-performance graphics and multi-cloud capabilities. The company also offers fantastic operational services for onboarding and configuration.
Apporto
The Virtual Computer Lab and Mobile Workspace offerings from Apporto offer vendor-managed and vendor-assembled DaaS solutions. According to Gartner, Apporto benefits from exceptional automation features and a straightforward browser-based remote desktop protocol. The company also provides specific integrations with student management systems for higher education. Despite this, Apporto remains one of the smaller vendors on this list, with a limited regional focus.
Anunta
Delivering enterprise and packaged DaaS solutions, Anunta focuses heavily on midsize and large enterprises across various industries. Gartner commends Anunta’s exceptional experience management tools, analytics features, and fantastic onboarding support. Anunta also benefits from predictable pricing and cost optimization services. However, the brand relies on virtual desktop brokering technology from other leaders like VMWare and Citrix.
OneClick
The OneClick DaaS platform provides a self-assembled and vendor-assembled DaaS solution primarily used by cloud service providers. Gartner draws attention to OneClick’s significant strengths in the automation landscape and its integrations with multiple cloud platforms. OneClick also offers pay-as-you-go pricing and term-based licensing for excellent flexibility. Notably, though, the company does have a relatively niche audience.
The Gartner DaaS Magic Quadrant: What’s Changed from 2022?
The 2023 Gartner DaaS Magic Quadrant is the first “MQ” produced by the analyst for this industry, replacing the previous “Market Guide” report. This means there have been no changes to the report over the last year. However, Gartner acknowledged other “notable” companies worth mentioning that weren’t included in the MQ.
For instance, Gartner drew attention to Accops’ VDI solution for its potential to scale and disrupt the DaaS market. Additionally, Gartner said Cameyo’s virtual desktop solutions are admirable but that the company doesn’t offer a full DaaS service yet.
Gartner mentioned Leostream for its broad range of DaaS and VDI solutions. However, the analyst noted that Leostream doesn’t offer a managed control plane service. Additionally, Gartner recommends Nerdio for its DaaS optimization capabilities.
Gartner also drew attention to Parallels, which didn’t have a control plane service at the time of writing the report, and Tilon, which is currently only offered to customers in Asia.
What’s Next for Desktop as a Service?
The 2023 Gartner DaaS Magic Quadrant provides a helpful overview of the current desktop as a service market. Throughout the report, Gartner highlighted the evolving frameworks and value-added services offered by DaaS vendors.
Gartner believes vendor-assembled and vendor-managed DaaS solutions will become particularly popular in the years ahead. The analyst also notes that the adoption of DaaS will likely grow as hybrid and remote work continues to proliferate the landscape.
