Azure Virtual Desktop and the Modern Workplace
/The ‘Modern Workplace’.
Microsoft’s broad term for holistic, Cloud-based IT has – as designed – become the industry’s standard phraseology. Yet with solutions like Azure Virtual Desktop, Microsoft seems sincere in making the term much more than corporate slang.
Nowadays, the Modern Workplace is an aspiration; a way of working that defies the limits of costs, time and place. So how does Azure Virtual Desktop perfect this philosophy – and why should it matter to the people working in it?
Understanding Azure Virtual Desktop
Azure Virtual Desktop (or AVD) is an entire Windows 10 desktop PC accessible from the Cloud. While the recently released Windows 365 offers a similar experience, and also runs on the Microsoft Azure platform, AVD provides a more granular experience, offering more flexible options for your security, scalability and backup capabilities, as well as remote application streaming.
Focussed, yet Flexible
AVD meets two important modern workplace requirements: flexibility for users and uniformity for IT teams. Multiple users can, for example, access a single virtual desktop simultaneously without their interactions conflicting with one another. This is called Multi-Session Hosting, a way of cataloguing a user’s preferences and presenting these to that user exclusively. For users who just need to access crucial software remotely, Azure’s Remote Application Streaming lets them fire up their most-needed software and work on projects continuously within the Cloud.
However your users interact with their virtual desktops, the base desktop is left unaltered, abiding to all other prescribed usage standards. Users can work from anywhere in whatever way they like, and you’re confident this won’t sacrifice standards or security.
Speaking of Security…
…by virtue of running in Azure, AVD offers precisely the security benefits you and your users demand. That includes near-seamless synchronisation with your Azure security solutions such as the Sentinel SIEM, or the Azure Security Operations Centre. AVD is also readily configured for any Azure Active Directories you may have set up. Approved users, devices and MFA security transfer easily, with your tried-and-tested protections intact. Cloud security is a whole new challenge, and AVD provides the granular security controls that the modern enterprise needs.
Everything’s Available – Any Time
Here’s where Azure becomes especially interesting. Because your virtual desktop is exactly that – virtual – it can resemble almost any hardware you need it to. This means that you can emulate powerful, processor-intensive hardware and control it, in browser, from the humblest of devices.
These so-called Virtual Machines do have their own setup costs and considerations. Yet without having to source or maintain the hardware yourself, the cost-saving benefits are game-changing. So too is having access to your most capable hardware from any internet connection.
Working Smarter, not Harder
Until recently, running a Virtual Desktop was demanding – on costs, resources and manpower. Now, with Microsoft manning the Cloud servers, the load has been lessened significantly. Upgrades, updates, operating systems, virtual machine construction…. These were once the responsibility of the IT team. Now, all are managed automatically by Microsoft; all the admin needs to configure are their business protocols and preferences.
No Cost for Convenience
Let’s be real – there’s no case for AVD without a compelling value prospect. And while we can’t ignore the cost of any major software investment, nor can we ignore AVD’s long-term cost-saving capacity.
The costs of hardware, maintenance and scalability are significantly reduced with AVD. As a service - not a software - it’s designed to evolve, enable and provide a holistic, future-proofed experience.
In that way, it’s almost inseparable from the modern workplace.
We’ve barely scratched the surface of Azure Virtual Desktop. For a deeper dive into this powerful Cloud platform, you can download our free eBook, Azure Virtual Desktop: The Windows Experience, from Anywhere, using the link below.
