Frequently Asked Questions

itopia Cloud Automation Stack (CAS) is an automation & orchestration solution that makes it easy for Tier 1 sysadmins to deploy and automate the end-to-end lifecycle management of remote desktop & app environments on Google Cloud.

DaaS is a way of delivering virtualized, cloud-hosted desktops and apps to end-users on any device. DaaS enables companies to reduce costs, increase security, and eliminate much of the manual labor required to manage complex, on-premises desktop virtualization and virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) environments such as Citrix and VMware.

DaaS eliminates the need for on-premises data centers and CapEx spending on hardware by hosting workspaces on cloud infrastructure. VDI requires an upfront investment in an on-premises data center, plus expensive licenses and high-cost technical people to administer complex environments. With software-only DaaS automation, orchestration and management,  administration is simpler and much less expensive.

There are many reasons why companies should consider migrating to the cloud, for example:

  • Eliminate CapEx on and accelerate hardware/infrastructure refresh cycles
  • Reduce OpEx with automation and centralized management
  • Minimize resource usage costs through pay-as-you-go pricing
  • Boost app and network performance
  • Support multiple office locations
  • Bolster security and regulatory compliance
  • Enable BYOD, and mobile, remote and seasonal/temporary workers
  • Empower professional services businesses to protect sensitive client data
  • Facilitate business growth and improve competitive positioning
  • Become more agile by leveraging highly scalable infrastructure
  • Improve disaster recovery and business continuity
  • Make a seamless transition from PCs to Chromebooks

By using itopia’s end-to-end Cloud Automation Stack (CAS) software platform, administrators can deploy, migrate and manage virtual desktops and apps on Google Cloud quickly and easily through a single pane-of-glass. CAS automates the entire process, eliminating the need manually configure and deploy end-user computing environments.

itopia’s dashboard includes activity reports on user accounts, software apps, security groups, shared folders, network data usage, network nodes, and firewall and security settings. There’s an option to integrate with GCP billing to better understand billing trends.

Instead of manually configuring and managing cloud infrastructure directly, a cloud automation and orchestration tool makes it simpler and faster to implement and manage complete IT environments from anywhere. Cloud automation enables organizations to focus on their core businesses.

Google Cloud supports “by the minute” pricing and offers several discounts. itopia allows administrators to schedule server uptime during business hours when users need access, and to configure servers as needed to further optimize costs.

By migrating to Google Cloud’s state-of-the-art infrastructure, organizations can leverage Google’s advanced, world-class cyber security. Google Cloud’s security team is comprised of over 700 experts.

Google data centers are compliant with all of the major compliance and data protection standards, including: ISO27001, ISO27017, ISO27018, PCI DSS v3.1, SSAE 16 / ISAE 3402 Type 2 Audits (SOC 1, SOC 2, SOC 3), CSA STAR, HIPAA with Business Associate Agreements (BAAs), GDPR and FedRAMP.

Google Cloud offers the lowest price, best performance, highest security, and lowest latency for remote desktop deployments. You can save even more by automating server uptime and using itopia snapshot automation for backups, reducing the cost of snapshot storage. GCP is the only cloud provider that offers Custom Machine Types so IT administrators can choose the optimum combination of RAM and CPU, further reducing costs.

Automating deployments and Google Cloud administration can reduce IT infrastructure costs by up to 200% without increasing labor costs, compared to on-premises VDI deployments.

itopia Cloud Automation Stack (CAS) includes itopia’s discovery tool that automatically inventories old environments and replicates accounts, security groups, shared folders, and other settings when provisioning cloud desktops. For certain tasks that cannot be automated, such as app installs, itopia will automatically generate a task list.

Data migration tools include datasync apps, VPN/robocopy, and FTP server setup. The latter is beneficial for large file transfers or for moving scanned data from a workstation to the cloud.

itopia automates Google Cloud Platform’s Snapshot collection and retention to provide a powerful data preservation and backup solution. Snapshots are copies of VM disks taken at the storage block level. They take just a few seconds and consume less computing resource than traditional backups. It is also recommended to have file/folder backups in place such as Microsoft Volume Snapshot Service (VSS) (also known as Volume Shadow Copy Service).

Yes, itopia CAS enables the extension of on-premises Active Directory domains to cloud-based AD environments across multiple GCP regions, zones and sites.

Yes, itopia offers its management console on mobile devices that run iOS or Android.

When you move your infrastructure and IT services to Google Cloud, it takes a persistent disk snapshot regularly, including boot volumes. itopia’s cloud management console lets you schedule automated snapshots and ensure that your backups are always retrievable. In addition, itopia enables the extension and replication of on-premises Active Directory domains to GCP-based environments across multiple GCP regions, zones and sites for DR.

Using a low-cost Google Chromebook, users can run Windows-based desktops and apps over RDP from a session running on Google Cloud Platform (GCP).

itopia gives MSPs the ability to secure, control and improve the delivery of end user computing environments, particularly for small- to medium-sized businesses.

Great times for a cloud migration include PC and server refresh cycles, multiple office deployments, remote worker migrations, security requirements, budget reductions, and others.

No. itopia virtual desktops are not well suited for cryptocurrency mining or PC gaming.