Windows Virtual Desktop Rebranded as Azure Virtual Desktop
The pandemic forced organizations around the world to migrate their business-critical workloads to the cloud as employees had to access them while working from home. Many enterprises opted for Windows Virtual Desktop for the security features, ease of use, and the familiar personal computing experience that Windows 10 offers, all with cloud technology.
The evolving remote and hybrid work scenarios have presented new use cases, that Microsoft will be catering to by adding flexibility to a modern cloud virtual desktop infrastructure. It announced that the popular Windows Virtual Desktop will now be called Azure Virtual Desktop and will have more features and new pricing for app streaming. In this article, let us dive into the features of the new Azure Virtual Desktop.
What Are the Features for Security and Management in Azure Virtual Desktop?
Microsoft is adding a host of security and management features for the new Azure Virtual Desktop deployments. Here is a summary of the new platform capabilities.
Improved Azure Active Directory Support
With the new Azure Virtual Desktop, users can directly join the virtual machines (VM) to Azure Active Directory (AAD) and access them from any device with their credentials. Users can automatically enroll the VMs with Microsoft Endpoint Manager. This will help in eliminating the need for a domain controller, lowering costs, and streamlining deployments. Eventually, features such as single sign-on (SSO), support for Azure Files, and credential types such as FIDO2 will be added.
Microsoft Endpoint Manager for Windows 10 Enterprise Multi-Session Virtual Machines
Admins can enroll and manage Windows 10 Enterprise multi-session Azure Virtual Desktop virtual machines in the Microsoft Endpoint Manager admin center similar to shared physical devices. This centralizes control over both physical and virtual devices in the Microsoft Endpoint Manager admin center.
Simplified Onboarding with Quickstart
Microsoft is introducing a new Quickstart experience in the Azure Virtual Desktop blade in the Azure portal. This will streamline the onboarding experience for the new Azure Virtual Desktop by automating the deployment process and implementing the best practices with a few clicks.
What Are the New Options for Remote App Streaming with Azure Virtual Desktop?
While several organizations are already using Azure Virtual Desktop to stream apps to their employees who are covered by the license entitlements, many others need Azure Virtual Desktop to be delivered as applications as-a-service for external users, such as customers and business partners. Organizations can now opt for monthly per-user access pricing options to deliver apps to external users.
Apps4Rent Empowers Organizations with Azure Virtual Desktop
The new end-user computing capabilities in Azure Virtual Desktop will make it one of the most flexible VDI platforms in the cloud and an even more attractive option than it is already. Microsoft even offers a special promotion with no charge to use Azure Virtual Desktop for streaming applications to external users for a limited period. However, organizations still require Microsoft 365 E3, Windows E3, or higher to stream apps for employees with Azure Virtual Desktop.
As a Tier 1 Microsoft CSP, Apps4Rent provides licenses apart from desktop and app virtualization solutions, including Windows 10 Enterprise multi-session, that leverage the Azure Virtual Desktop platform capabilities to help businesses maximize their return on investment on Azure infrastructure. Contact our Microsoft-certified Azure solution architects, available 24/7 via phone, chat, and email for deployment assistance.
