Why Choose Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) for Desktop as a Service (DaaS)?

As a DaaS offering, Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) is very cost-effective when compared to scaling up a traditional virtual desktop environment (VDI) in your own data center. With the onslaught of the pandemic, companies were trying to find ways to extend their remote work infrastructure while keeping their operating expenses low.

One of the most compelling arguments for deploying AVD during this time is that it lets organizations control apps and data while allowing their employees to access those resources from their own devices. is something that a traditional VDI/RDS environment can also provide. However, the cost advantage of AVD, when combined with security and control, creates a winning combination.

This changes the financial approach from a traditional CAPEX expense, to an operational one.

If IT decision-makers consider the end-user benefit, another reason to choose AVD is the superior experience of Windows 10 and Office 365 that it can provide. The greater the end user experience is, this leads to increased productivity. There is nothing worse then trying to provide a productive work environment that is riddled with poor performance due to antiquation.

What Is the Azure Advantage?

With AVD, the infrastructure and management components of a traditional on-premises virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) disappear into the Microsoft cloud. Features such as brokering, load-balancing, compute, storage, and diagnostics are no longer your responsibility, which will let your IT resources focus on other areas of your business.

Windows 10 Multisession

Unlike the other traditional Remote Desktop Infrastructure’s (RDI), Azure Virtual Desktop allows multiple sessions on a Windows 10 Virtual Machine (VM). This means that an organization can have multiple users access the same virtual machine while reducing the cost of maintaining multiple VM licenses. These sessions are also isolated from each other, which gives higher security and privacy.

Access AVD from Any Operating System

Another reason why AVD is a win for any organization is through the flexibility that Microsoft offers for AVD across diverse operating systems. A user can access AVD in Windows, macOS, iOS, or Android. The client OS flexibility of this sort goes a long way to BYOD scenarios that companies may want to use while they extend their remote work footprint.

Profile Management

Microsoft acquired a company called FSLogix to capture its profile container technology. The company has integrated this into its Azure and Microsoft 365 ecosystems. An AVD user profile will follow a user even if they do not use the same virtual machine session every time they access AVD virtual machines.