Azure Virtual Desktop and Windows 365
Microsoft have announced the Windows 365 Cloud PC, an incredibly simple way to securely stream Windows from the Microsoft Cloud, delivered as a complete software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution built on the Azure Virtual Desktop platform.
Windows 365 is ideal for customers looking for a personalized Windows experience – including apps, content and settings – on any device, with predictable per user, per month pricing. This service can be easily deployed and managed with Microsoft Endpoint Manager or via a self-service portal, since no VDI expertise required.
For organizations which require maximum flexibility and control, Azure Virtual Desktop is a flexible cloud VDI platform that can be used to build and deliver nearly any desktop or app virtualization scenario – with capabilities such as remote app streaming, personalized (single session) or pooled (multi-session) desktops, and integration with Citrix and VMware cloud solutions. With Azure Virtual Desktop, you can customize and fine-tune your deployment to meet your performance, security, compliance, location, or other requirements.
With these two offerings (Windows 365 Cloud PC and Azure Virtual Desktop), Microsoft gives organizations two exciting options to support all your hybrid work needs. A high-level comparison of the two options is shown in the below diagram.
Azure Virtual Desktop new features
- Azure Active Directory joined VMs is available today in public preview. You can now join your Azure Virtual Desktop virtual machines directly to Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) and connect to the virtual machines from any device with basic credentials. You can also automatically enroll the virtual machines with Microsoft Endpoint Manager. For certain scenarios, this will help eliminate the need for a domain controller, help reduce cost, and streamline your deployment.
- Azure Virtual Desktop will be available in China. This rounds out our global coverage and helps organizations support customers in this region with improved performance and latency. Public preview for China will be available in the coming weeks. Click here to learn more.
- Getting started is now generally available to offer a new streamlined onboarding experience to set up a complete Azure Virtual Desktop environment in your Azure subscription. This new onboarding option in the Azure portal will simplify meeting the pre-requisites and validation requirements to kick off an automated process for deploying the Azure Active Directory Domain Service and implementing best practices for a successful deployment.
- Start VM on Connect will be generally available in the coming weeks to help you optimize the costs of your deployment. Instead of predicting when the VMs need to be available for your users, give them the power to turn on a deallocated or stopped VM to meet flexible demand.
- App streaming as a service (former RDS remote apps).
- We have new metadata storage locations in the European Union (EU), United Kingdom (UK) and Canada. Azure Virtual Desktop allows customers to choose the region best suited to them for virtual machine deployment today.
Microsoft Inspire training sessions
Microsoft Inspire sessions with live Q & A or on-demand are listed below:
- BRK112 – New ways to grow your business with Azure Virtual Desktop
- Ask the Experts with live Q & A – Azure Virtual Desktop
Microsoft CSP partner training resources
Microsoft encourage CSP partners to connect with each other and the Microsoft team by joining the Azure Virtual Desktop Partner Forum and share your ideas with our product team. Also, take advantage of the new customer offer and many great resources MS have provided to help you serve your customers and grow your business:
- Get certified today on AZ-140: Configuring and Operating Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop
- Join these partners by earning the Azure Virtual Desktop advanced specialization
- Access benefits and programs like Azure Modernization & Migration Program
- Become a delivery partner for the Azure Immersion Workshop for Azure Virtual Desktop
- Work with your PDM or the Cloud Enablement Desk to make sure your offerings for Azure Virtual Desktop, Citrix Cloud on Azure, and VMware Horizon Cloud on Azure are co-sell ready
- For SaaS applications, if you need help enabling remote app streaming, please take advantage of these resources: FastTrack for Azure and Azure Specialists for ISV and SaaS providers.
- Website for Azure Virtual Desktop
- Website for Windows 365
