How to Migrate Citrix to Azure?

Businesses are increasingly looking for new ways for working and identifying solutions to increase their resilience, including technologies to secure their data and provide virtual access to applications and resources to remote employees. Many businesses are using Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) to deliver a remote desktop experience through Remote Desktop Services (RDS) and managed using Citrix. However, with the on-premises method of deployment, organizations cannot take full advantage of Citrix technology.

Azure Virtual Desktop is a suitable modernization option that allows businesses to take full advantage of their existing Citrix investments while providing other Azure benefits, improved scalability, and reduced infrastructure costs. In this article, we will explain how to migrate Citrix Virtual Desktop service to Azure Virtual Desktop.

What Are the Advantages of Migrating Citrix Virtual Desktops to Azure?

Migrating Citrix virtual desktops to Azure allows businesses to take advantage of power management, image management, adaptive protocol, Active Directory (AD) integration, hybrid capabilities, and other facilities available with Azure infrastructure. Here are some of the advantages of migrating Citrix virtual machines to Azure.

• The integrated security features in Azure Virtual Desktop help in improving the security posture.
• The overall capital expenditure reduces as hardware and infrastructure costs are minimized.
• Virtual desktops can be deployed and scaled in minutes to meet the changing requirements of businesses.
• The experience is optimized for Windows 10 (and Windows 11) and Microsoft 365, including Microsoft Teams.
• Citrix services can be paired with Azure capabilities without third-party tools.

How to Migrate Citrix VDI Solution to Azure?

The process involved in migrating Citrix environments to Azure could differ based on the workloads. The following is the process involved in migrating Citrix VDI workloads to Azure.

• Identify the right Azure subscriptions and ensure that AD or Azure AD Domain Services are configured and accessible from the Azure subscription and virtual network available for the Citrix virtualization solution.
• Set up Azure Migrate from the VDI section in the Azure portal. Ensure that Azure Migrate: Server Migration is selected as the migration tool. Partner tools can also be selected in the setup wizard to assess the Citrix environment to be migrated to Azure.
• Assess the current usage, consumption, and application inventories to determine the VM size and simplify the migration and configuration.
• After reviewing the assessment, the most cost-effective methods to use pooled or personal virtual desktops can be determined. Based on this information, either custom template images can be prepared, created, and deployed using Citrix virtualization solutions. Alternatively, the existing VDI can be migrated to Azure using a lift and shift approach.

Apps4Rent Can Help in Migrating Citrix Environments to Azure

As infrastructure and technological demand for remote work continues to increase, modernizing and taking advantage of the cloud for virtual desktops has become a necessity. Migrating Citrix VDI to Azure improves security, improves performance, and optimizes the use of resources.

As a Microsoft Gold Partner for Cloud Platform and a Citrix Partner, Apps4Rent provides managed Azure services to set up Citrix workloads on Azure. Call, chat or email our cloud modernization specialists, available 24/7 for guidance and assistance.