Microsoft 365: Your Gateway to Azure Virtual Desktop

/

Sometimes, the thought of migrating to another, more capable Cloud solution can feel exhausting – if not insurmountable. Take Azure Virtual Desktop, for example: arguably Microsoft’s most elaborate remote desktop yet, its sheer scale can feel burdensome to those tasked with tackling migration.

Yet, as we’re about to discover, many businesses took their first steps the moment they adopted Microsoft 365.

A Quick Reminder of Azure Virtual Desktop’s Benefits

Azure Virtual Desktop is a powerful online desktop available from any internet connection. While similar in principle to Windows 365 (Microsoft’s more limited remote desktop service), Azure Virtual Desktop is infinitely more customisable, allowing IT teams to emulate powerful hardware, provide a desktop containing hundreds of simultaneous users, and leverage the Microsoft Azure platform for more complex business needs.

As such, Azure Virtual Desktop and Microsoft 365 go hand-in-hand – so much so that your existing 365 license is set to springboard your Azure migration.

Easier Licensing

Unlike prior virtual desktop solutions, there’s no need for a Client Access License (CAL) to get started in Azure Virtual Desktop. Instead, your Microsoft 365 Business or Enterprise package makes you automatically eligible for an AVD license. Yours is already available if you own any of these 365 licenses on a per-user basis:

  • Microsoft 365 E3 or E5

  • Microsoft 365 A3, A5 or Student Use Benefits

  • Microsoft 365 F3

  • Microsoft 365 Business Premium (formerly Microsoft 365 Business)

  • Windows 10 Enterprise E3 or E5

  • Windows 1 Education A3 or A5

  • Windows 10 CDA per user

By already engaging with the Microsoft Cloud, you’re opened to Azure’s wider opportunities; testament, perhaps, to Microsoft’s drive towards the Modern Workplace.

A Consolidated Workspace

It’s beneficial enough to have Microsoft 365 as your gateway to Azure Virtual Desktop, but it would count for little if it wasn’t compatible with your new Cloud workspace. Thankfully, it is. There’s no need to set up new M365 users or licenses within your new Virtual Desktop, and your existing ones transition over easily from 365.

Azure Active Directory – which is also included as part of your Microsoft 365 subscription – is a user management tool that ensures all your users’ profiles, access rights and approved devices remain the same across both environments. Your virtual desktop can leverage this, bringing users over simply and securely, maintaining their security policies while still allowing your IT teams to adjust individual security settings as needed.

Azure Optimised

If you’re considering an Azure Virtual Desktop solution, you’re already envisioning a Cloud more capable than 365 alone. Simply by being based in the powerful Azure platform, your Azure Virtual Desktop can implement transformative technologies that improve the 365 experience.

For example, the Azure platform allows for several advanced plugins that aren’t available locally. The integrated apps function allows for compatible software to access your 365 calendars, mailboxes, files and folders, so you incorporate 365 holistically into your work streams and applications.

There’s also the matter of AVD’s added processing power. Your Azure Virtual Desktop can emulate powerful desktop hardware and have all its capabilities available from a simple mobile device. This means as well as providing complex software locally, like AutoCAD or Weever, these files can be shared more openly via Microsoft 365 apps such as Teams, SharePoint or OneDrive. For those carrying out complex tasks over multiple sites, as is often the case in engineering or construction roles, they’ve access to once-inaccessible software remotely, with the ability to collaborate over several M365 apps and file shares.

Conclusion  

Microsoft are undoubtedly keen to introduce users to their Cloud ecosystem, and while Microsoft 365 isn’t their most capable offering, it’s a suitable introduction to the systems that transform your business, your infrastructure and the software you use daily.

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.