I’ve seen technology trends come and go, but one area that continues to evolve is the virtual desktop. The age of complex, on-premise Virtual Desktop Infrastructure is fading in my opinion and it will slowly be replaced by the agility of cloud-native solutions. A recent dive into Amazon AppStream and its potential as a “Citrix killer” has provided some thoughts I wanted to share with others.
I started with a simple question: “Could AppStream, with its ability to project a full desktop, replace a persistent DaaS service like Citrix?” The answer, as is often the case in IT, is nuanced. AppStream is an application streaming service at its core. It’s inherently non-persistent, meaning each time a user logs in, they get a fresh, clean instance. This is a game-changer for specific use cases—think training environments, educational labs, or contingent workers who need a standardized tool for a specific task. You can spin up thousands of identical desktops, and when the session ends, everything is wiped clean, saving you from a management nightmare.
However, for the traditional knowledge worker or software developer who needs a persistent, personalized environment, AppStream isn’t a direct replacement for Amazon WorkSpaces. WorkSpaces is purpose-built to provide a full-fledged, persistent virtual desktop—a dedicated machine you can customize and save files on, just like a physical PC.
This led to my second question: “Can’t we save configuration files to a storage location, solving the persistence issue?” The answer is yes. AppStream Application Settings Persistence feature does exactly this. It saves user-specific data—things like browser history, application settings, and personalized UI layouts—to a virtual disk file in a user-specific S3 bucket. It’s a clever way to add persistence to a non-persistent platform.
So, would this make AppStream a “Citrix killer,” as I mused? Citrix offers a feature-rich, mature platform with decades of development behind it. It provides granular control, robust peripheral support, and, crucially for many enterprises, a strong presence in multi-cloud and on-premises environments so probably not for some time. AppStream’s ability to stream a full desktop and its clever use of S3 for persistence makes it a formidable contender. It addresses the non-persistence challenge with elegance and simplicity.
As always with IT; Virtual Desktop Infrastructure isn’t about one solution over others; it’s about choosing the right tool for the particular problem set. For a standardized, scalable streaming solution, AppStream could be a top-tier choice. For a fully persistent, customized, and a feature-rich virtual desktop, WorkSpaces or a veteran like Citrix might still be the best solution. The key will be to understand the trade-offs and build the solution that serves the needs of your business.
Prompt #1 ::
how could Amazon AppStream be used in place of something like Amazon Workspace especially if you can project a desktop as an application? i.e. you just publish the desktop?
wouldn’t this be a Citrix killer?
Prompt #2 ::
can some of the configuration files be saved to an S3 bucket, where things like browser history could be written to at least?
Prompt #3 ::
so in theory would using an S3 bucket for configuration files, solve the issue of persistence with App Stream?
Amazon AppStream 2.0 is an application streaming service that can be configured to stream a full desktop. It is non-persistent, meaning that each time a user starts a new session, they get a fresh instance. This is ideal for scenarios where users need to access specific applications or a standard desktop with no personal files or settings saved between sessions……
Prompt #4 ::
Can you please summarize my three questions, and your responses, into a 500 word article for my website.
this article should be written from the experience of a 25 year veteran of the Information technology who has a passion for sharing knowledge, ideas, and problems with the next generation of IT. The audience of the article will be anyone within IT who is working to expand their knowledge, and continue evolving their career into the new technologies and ideas of the time.