Introduction:

Compared to traditional PCs, Elastic Desktop Service demonstrates significant advantages in user experience, elastic compute, smart workplace solutions, and data security. For Alibaba Cloud, entering the Challengers quadrant for the first time signifies its continuously growing competitiveness in the global Desktop as a Service (DaaS) market, as it accelerates the reshaping of the future of enterprise office and digital work scenarios through end-device cloud computing.

According to Gartner, "By 2027, virtual desktops will be cost-effective for 95% of workers compared to 40% in 2019.By 2027, virtual desktops will be used as the primary works pace for 20% of workers, up from 10% in 2019." As remote work becomes the norm and the enterprise demand for cost reduction and efficiency improvement surges, the DaaS market is experiencing explosive growth. Gartner forecasts that "DaaS spending will grow from $4.3 billion in 2025 to $6.0 billion in 2029, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.9%".

It is this combination of deep technological expertise and a strategic ecosystem that has secured Alibaba Cloud's first-mover advantage. With the deep convergence of AI and cloud computing, Alibaba Cloud Elastic Desktop Service will continue to push beyond the limitations of traditional PCs. It will provide enterprises with smarter cloud-based solutions built on its proprietary core technology stack, global presence with compliance assurance, and demand-driven innovative scenarios, empowering global customers to unlock the full potential of digital productivity.

In terms of its technical architecture, Elastic Desktop Service utilizes its proprietary ASP, which adaptively adjusts to user interaction scenarios to deliver the smoothest cloud-based user experience. It ensures low-latency interaction even under weak network conditions. Combined with a range of dedicated terminals and capabilities such as auto-scaling and dynamic configuration, it provides customers with a productivity tool that breaks the barriers of physical space and computing power. Its service SLA reaches 99.975%, maintaining the industry's highest level for several consecutive years.

From basic office tasks to AI large model inference, and from 3D rendering to simulation design, high-performance cloud compute has become a standard requirement for a growing number of enterprises. Reportedly, Alibaba Cloud Elastic Desktop Service launched its new AI Super Workspace this July. With just a few minutes of configuration, users can launch a cloud workstation equipped with professional graphics cards and pre-configured with environments such as CUDA, PyTorch, and Conda. A single card offers up to 48 GB of VRAM. To address the needs of universities and labs facing shortages of GPUs and computing power, it also provides a supporting image community, enabling one-click installation to reproduce results from AI papers published at top-tier conferences, thereby greatly enhancing research efficiency. Even if a workstation's environment becomes corrupted, the "restore point" feature allows it to be rolled back in just one minute—faster than reinstalling the operating system.

"Elastic Desktop Service is reshaping the boundaries between work, learning, and life through a revolution in end-device computing and large model technology," said Zhang Tao, President of Alibaba Cloud's Elastic Desktop Service Business. "Over the next decade, terminal cloud computing will become the new growth engine for the cloud industry. With 'democratizing compute' as its mission, Elastic Desktop Service will empower global enterprises to accelerate their transition into a new era of cloud-based productivity."

Source: Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Desktop as a Service, 11 August 2025

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