Why procurement teams are rethinking VDI decisions—and where Parallels RAS fits
For a long time, virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) and application delivery decisions were made almost exclusively by IT. But that’s no longer the case. Today, procurement teams are heavily engaged in these decisions—beyond just ensuring cost.
There’s a reason for that.
VDI solutions have become increasingly difficult to evaluate from a procurement perspective. Pricing isn’t always clear-cut, deployments take longer than they should, and what might look feasible on paper can quickly turn into a far more complicated project once implementation begins.
What’s left is a common result: Longer buying cycles, unclear cost structures, and a solution that’s increasingly difficult to reverse once it’s been deployed.
This is where procurement teams are starting to push back.
Instead of focusing only on feature parity, the conversation is moving toward clarity. How predictable is the pricing? How many vendors are actually involved? How quickly can the organization realize value? And just as important, how easy is it to change direction later?
Parallels RAS tends to stand out in this context because it aligns more naturally with how procurement teams think about risk and cost.
CTA: See how Parallels RAS changes the procurement conversation for yourself. Try it free or explore the demo today!
How organizations are evaluating VDI
One of the first things that becomes immediately apparent during evaluation is the pricing model. Many VDI platforms use a layered, multi-license, add-on model, making it difficult to build a reliable cost model.
By comparison, Parallels RAS relies on a simple structure, significantly reducing evaluation and approval time.
But pricing is just one part of the puzzle. Organizations are also looking at:
Infrastructure requirements
There is also the question of how much infrastructure and how many vendors are required to deploy a solution. In many cases, multiple contracts and agreements need to be managed to achieve a single result.
Parallels RAS significantly reduces this need by integrating directly into existing Microsoft RDS infrastructures and supporting deployment across on-premises, hybrid, and public cloud environments without creating multiple layers of dependencies and moving parts, which directly translates into reduced risk.
Time-to-value
Time-to-value is the length of time a proof-of-concept phase can take before achieving ROI. In many cases, the process may never bear fruit.
With Parallels RAS, an organization can now move from the evaluation phase to production with minimal hassle, thereby justifying the investment.
Flexibility
In many cases, VDI solutions have led organizations to fully commit to a particular architecture and cloud strategy. This means that any attempt at changing the strategy would come at a high cost.
Parallels RAS provides a much smoother transition. This is especially true in scenarios where an organization may want to maintain an on-premises setup, move entirely to the cloud, or adopt a hybrid approach.
4 evaluation criteria for procurement teamsWhen assessing VDI or application delivery platforms, procurement teams can focus on four core dimensions. | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |
| Total cost of ownership (TCO) | Vendor consolidation opportunities | Implementation risk | Long-term scalability and flexibility |
Look beyond licensing:
| Fewer vendors mean:
| Evaluate:
| Ensure the solution can:
|
Evaluation is changing the procurement conversation
What emerges from all of this is a different kind of conversation around procurement. Rather than dealing with complexity, we’re talking about how much complexity we can avoid in the first place.
What that means in practice is faster decisions, fewer surprises after the fact, and a better sense of future costs. It’s a conversation that positions procurement as more than just a step in the process. It’s a conversation that positions procurement as a driver of success.
This is no longer a conversation about procurement as a gatekeeper of VDI and application delivery solutions. This is a conversation about procurement as a driver of digital workspace initiatives.
VDI and application delivery solutions are no longer just about technology. They’re about financial and operational commitments that go far beyond the purchase price. Solutions that remove uncertainty, simplify vendor relationships, and offer future flexibility are the ones that will stand up to scrutiny.
That’s what Parallels RAS offers. Not because it tries to match everything that the old solutions offer, but because it removes so much of the complexity that procurement teams have learned to question.
Solve procurement predicaments with Parallels RAS
When procurement teams take an active role in evaluating Parallels RAS, organizations typically achieve:
- Faster purchasing cycles due to simpler evaluation and pricing
- Lower overall spend across licensing and operations
- Reduced vendor complexity with fewer dependencies
- Improved alignment with IT and financial goals
Take a closer look at how Parallels RAS can reduce vendor complexity, deliver predictable costs, and accelerate ROI, or start a free trial to evaluate it against your procurement criteria.
