Q. What is the Champion Desktop Cloud?
A. The Champion Desktop Cloud is a flexible and affordable hosted, subscription service offering that allows you to buy virtual desktops on demand. Our offering allows your organization to enjoy the benefits of virtual desktops without the large upfront costs and complex management challenges of enterprise VDI.
Q. What is included as part of the Champion Desktop Cloud?
A. The Champion Desktop Cloud includes all of the hardware (server, storage and networking), management software, hypervisors, brokering and web portals needed to run the offering. Our offering provides deployment of golden images, pattern management, provisioning and image allocation.
Q. What is not included in the Champion Desktop Cloud?
A. The Champion Desktop Cloud includes a tremendous amount of features, but the end client must provide what is listed below. Champion will be glad to assist in providing pricing and services for the following items:
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Windows desktop OS license
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Other software licensing (ie. Microsoft Office, Adobe, etc.) is the same on a virtual desktop as it is on a traditional desktop. Therefore, for example you can use your existing Office licensing on the virtual desktop.
- End-point device (or access device), which can be a fat client, thin client, iPad, Android tablet, etc.
- The Champion Desktop Cloud solution includes the RDP, RGS, HTML 5, VNC and NX protocols. If you need the Citrix Receiver protocol (or HDX), there is an additional $5/desktop per month fee. HDX is recommended for high latency scenarios and/or graphically intensive use cases.
- We recommend the customer store their "My Documents" end-user data somewhere other than the virtual desktop’s hard drive. This is a standard best practice whether on a virtual desktop or a traditional desktop. There are a number of ways to accomplish this: cloud storage, file server, etc. Champion's Cloud File Share solution is ideal for this scenario. Please call 800-771-7000 and ask for further information.
Q. What is the price?
A. One of the great things about cloud economics is that you only pay for what you need. You are billed monthly, and the rate depends on the configuration of the desktops and the terms of the contract. Unlike other cloud services it does not matter if the desktop is on or off, the rate is a flat rate per month regardless of usage. Please contact Champion at 800-771-7000 or email us at support@championsg.com for more information.
Q. What do I need to access the desktops?
A. You can access the Champion Desktop Cloud through any computer (Windows PC, Mac OSX, Linux), ChromeBook, thin clients, zero clients, iPad / iPhone, or Android device.
Q. How is the Champion Desktop Cloud different than enterprise Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)?
A. The main difference is that cloud desktops require no upfront costs and shield you from all of the deployment and management complexities. The Champion Desktop Cloud is designed to offer you all of the functionality of enterprise VDI but delivered as a cloud-hosted service.
Q. How do I buy virtual desktops on the Champion Desktop Cloud?
A. Please contact the Champion Desktop Cloud team at 800-771-7000 or via email at support@championsg.com.
Q. How can I try the Champion Desktop Cloud?
A. Experience a 7-day free trial here.
Q. How are end users authenticated in the Champion Cloud?
A. Authentication is done against your corporate LDAP environment, usually your Active Directory. This allows your organization to control and manage all credentials with your existing best practices. None of your end users’ passwords are ever stored in the Champion Desktop Cloud or transferred over the wire in clear text.
Q. What do I need to get started on the Champion Desktop Cloud?
A. For a free trial you need nothing more than a supported end point device, see above. Experience a 7-day free trial here.
Q. What organizations does the Champion Desktop Cloud make sense for?
A. Our offering makes sense for any organization that is looking to leverage the benefits of virtual desktops in rapid fashion, without the complexity and potential headaches of VDI. Ideally suited for those that prefer IT as a service and require maximum flexibility.
Q. Do I need to know how to manage hypervisors, servers or enterprise storage to leverage the Champion Desktop Cloud?
A. No, the management of all those systems is covered in the service and is not your responsibility or even exposed to you. All you need to worry about is what applications you want to provide to end users.
Q. What desktop operating systems are supported on the Champion Cloud?
A. Windows 7 Pro, Windows 7 Enterprise, 32- and 64-bit flavors of Windows 7, Windows XP. Linux desktops are also supported. Please contact the Champion Desktop Cloud team at 800-771-7000 for the latest supported flavors.
Q. What protocols does the Champion Desktop Cloud support?
A. The solution is protocol agnostic, by default RDP is supported out the box. RGS from HP can be used for improved multimedia, HDX from Citrix will also help you with multimedia on a lower bandwidth, as well as multiple other protocols.
Q. Are dynamic and static desktops supported in the Champion Desktop Cloud?
A. Yes, both static and dynamic desktops are supported.
Q. What images can I use on my virtual desktops?
A. We have VDI optimized images free of charge and ready for your use. There are images available for all supported operating systems. You can also use your own image(s).
Q. Does Champion have services to help my organization adopt and implement best practices for using Virtual Desktops in the Champion Desktop Cloud?
A. Yes. We have numerous on-site and remote consultants, as well as self-service tools for helping you adopt the right virtual desktop solution. Please contact the Champion Desktop Cloud team at 800-771-7000 or email us at support@championsg.com.
Q. What about privacy and security of the Cloud?
A. The Champion Desktop Cloud leverages secure data centers. From the ground up, the hosting environment is built to deliver on-demand software, with fully-managed hosting solutions and instant emergency response. The data center includes world class monitoring, highly secure facilities and a support team of certified experts. View the architecture and security section of our website for more information.