What is Azure Virtual Desktop? What’s new about it?

Allen Furmanski

3 years ago

What is the new Azure Virtual Desktop from Microsoft?

On June 7, 2021, Microsoft announced the change of the Windows Virtual Desktop product name to Azure Virtual Desktop. Learn about the product name change below, what this means for customers, and how Citrix delivers value for it.

What is Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop?

Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop is a cloud-based virtual desktop and application platform that runs in Azure and has exclusive features like Windows 10 enterprise multi-session. This offering allows multiple users to concurrently connect to a remote desktop on a Windows 10 virtual machine for a familiar user experience with optimal app compatibility and no RDS CAL licensing. Windows 7 is also available with extended support so you can run your legacy apps securely and efficiently in the cloud.

Azure Virtual Desktop was previously known as Windows Virtual Desktop. After a period of time in public preview, Windows Virtual Desktop officially launched in September 2019, and Citrix was there with Day 1 support. Microsoft rebranded Windows Virtual Desktop as Azure Virtual Desktop in June 2021. Like we have for over 30 years, Citrix will continue to collaborate closely with Microsoft to deliver joint solutions that benefit all types of customers, helping them make the most of their cloud journey.

Traditionally, deploying a virtual desktop environment was often considered time consuming and complex. Desktop virtualization required a number of key components, set up and maintained by admins, to work seamlessly with one another, including domain controllers, brokers, database servers, session host machines, and more. The pandemic has accelerated companies leveraging cloud resources to unlock new features and increase agility. Azure Virtual Desktop provides a solid foundation for cloud VDI from Windows server and Windows desktop hosts to keep end users productive.

What does Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop do?

Azure Virtual Desktop is a desktop-as-a-service (DaaS) offering that allows customers to run virtual app and desktop services from the Azure public cloud. Admins deploy the solution through the Azure portal and can leverage Azure Active Directory and a host of operating system options to deliver resources to users. As a DaaS solution, Azure Virtual Desktop goes beyond just virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) by providing a turnkey offering with Azure virtual machines, templates, cloud services, and more to handle a wide variety of use cases.

Adding Citrix to an Azure Virtual Desktop entitlement gives customers greater flexibility and capability. While Azure Virtual Desktop is purely based within Azure, Citrix expands that to other major clouds like AWS and Google Cloud as well as on-premises hypervisors such as Citrix, VMware, Hyper-V, and Nutanix running within traditional datacenters.

Citrix provides the broadest OS and application support including both Windows and Linux delivery and comprehensive endpoint support for Mac, thin clients, iOS, and Android devices among others. Citrix solutions are also able to integrate within complex Active Directory domain environments at scale including advanced authentication, Azure AD, Azure Files, and Azure resource support.

One question that admins might ponder is, “How does Windows Virtual Desktop changing to Azure Virtual Desktop affect me?” The short answer is that it doesn’t. Microsoft has changed the name to better align with the offering’s expanding capabilities and roadmap. As of writing, it still provides customers with a solid foundation upon which to build out cloud-based VDI and DaaS services for users.

Citrix Benefits for Azure Virtual Desktop

As previously mentioned, the Windows Virtual Desktop product name change to Azure Virtual Desktop does not have any major impact to the significant value-add and cost savings Citrix brings to the platform. Customers will continue to leverage their Azure entitlement with Citrix’s cloud services to deliver an exceptional remote work platform for users.

There are three key pillars of benefits with Citrix and an Azure Virtual Desktop entitlement:

Enable hybrid multi-cloud: Only Citrix manages any on-premises virtualization deployment alongside Azure Virtual Desktop and offers managed DaaS for the fastest and most cost-effective transition to Azure.
Optimize operations: Only Citrix accelerates Azure Virtual Desktop deployment and lifecycle maintenance in the most efficient manner possible, enabling faster rollouts and time to value while decreasing cloud spending through advanced scalability and performance optimizations.
Secure user experiences: Only Citrix offers the best possible virtual app and desktop experience with highly responsive sessions, rich graphics, crystal-clear audio, broad peripheral support, and more while also maintaining a strong security posture. Active malware prevention, embedded watermarks, contextual access, session recording, and Analytics offer true defense-in-depth measures.

Save more on Azure Virtual Desktop with Citrix

Citrix allows customers to do far more with their Azure Virtual Desktop entitlement while also saving money over the lifetime of their environment. From administrative time savings to network bandwidth savings or VM lifecycle management savings, the cost benefits are tangible for running a Citrix VDI solution on Azure. Several subscription types and pricing options are available for Citrix’s cloud services. Check out our cost calculator tool and see how much you can save.

Get Started with Azure Virtual Desktop and Citrix

We’ve barely scratched the surface of what’s possible with Citrix Virtual App and Desktop solutions on Azure with an Azure Virtual Desktop entitlement. We encourage you to learn more with these great resources and reach out to your local sales rep or partner for a demo today.