After the arrival of Windows 365, Mac-as-a-service took a step forward when Teradici added macOS support to the Teradici Cloud Access Software (CAS).
Teradici CAS now provides high-quality remote Mac access that is powerful enough to support compute-intensive workloads across a wide range of systems. I spoke to Ziad Lammam, vice president of product for Teradici, to find out more.
Why is that important?
Teradici’s solution is likely to be very significant for some companies deploying remote work, as it will allow them to provide Macs to remote or externally based engineering, design and development groups in a way that protects any content or data stored on those machines.
“Teradici CAS users have more flexibility to reimagine their workflows post-pandemic and can now securely remote to their high-power Macs wherever they are, including from their home office,” David Smith, CEO at Teradici, said. in a statement. The company also says that when users access their Mac remotely, the experience will feel the same “as if they were on a local machine.”
The solution must be usable across a wide range of industries, including animation, VFX, broadcast, education, software development, government, healthcare, and the CAD sector. With it, users can access their Mac remotely as if they were on a local machine with high resolution and accurate color fidelity, as the video below demonstrates.
Short chat with Teradici
Lammam explains why the timing is right for such a service, saying:
“Many organizations have Macs already in their environment and some users prefer to use Macs for their development use cases. Customers currently enjoying the Teradici CAS user experience asked us to extend support to macOS and we listened and spoke. We plan to continue improving Teradici CAS for Windows, Linux, and now macOS in future releases.”
He looks at three typical enterprise applications for the technology:
- Remote access to a high-performance design environment.
- Virtual desktops and desktop-as-a-service deployments for knowledge workers.
- Deployment through public cloud marketplaces and managed service providers.
The beauty of this solution is that it makes it possible to access a Mac to get things done using an iPad, tablet, or even a Windows Surface — even if you do need good bandwidth (10Mbps to 100Mbps+).
“Teradici CAS for macOS can be accessed remotely from any endpoint including Windows Surface, Windows Laptop/PC, Linux devices, Mac endpoints, and thin or zero clients,” he said.
A real Mac can be in a server room, anywhere in the office or even hosted in a data center. Apple doesn’t currently allow macOS to run as a virtual machine on non-Apple servers, so a real Mac is used; they connect to remote systems via the high-performance and secure PCoIP (PC-over-IP) protocol.
How strong is PCoIP?
“Teradici’s PCoIP protocol dynamically adapts to changing network conditions and is truly usable in a mobile environment,” said Lammam. “I have personally used [it] in mobile hotspots in cafes, on trains, and even in the air. The better the network, the better the user experience. With the start of the 5G network, we expect a better mobile experience from any mobile access point.”
Mac as a growing service
This is the latest in a recent wave of Mac-as-a-service offerings. Both MacStadium and Amazon offer Macs in the data center, primarily for application development and testing, and Teradici is working with MacStadium, AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud on current offerings.
“We’re really seeing growth in the Mac-as-a-service market,” Lammam said. “Making a Mac as accessible as a Windows or Linux desktop will empower users to be more mobile, enabling them to focus on creative design, productivity, and enabling secure and easy access to the latest hardware infrastructure.”
Who is this for?
The core market is likely to consist of existing Teradici customers in the graphic design and video editing industry.
Remote desktop software is a growing segment, projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 17% through 2028. And, of course, as hybrid work becomes the norm, 67% of the workforce is expected to work remotely at least three days a week.
“Support for macOS at Teradici CAS gives artists and producers incredible flexibility to choose how they work, including on macOS,” said Raymond Thompson, senior director, partner and industry marketing, at Avid.
“A large number of Avid Media Composer users prefer Macs, and now with macOS Teradici CAS support, content creators can have the high-quality remote experience they need to work from anywhere on whatever OS they want.”
The news came when we learned that HP was about to acquire Teradici.
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