What is Azure Virtual Desktop? Here’s an overview of the service, including why it could mean such a big deal to you, more about Azure Virtual Desktop pricing and migration.
What Is Azure Virtual Desktop?
There’s a great playlist of videos available at the moment by the Azure Academy that gives you a good introduction to AVD. In the beginning of the first video, it explains nicely what the big deal here is. To put it in a nutshell, Windows Remote Desktop Services has been around for ages, but it really needed a modern version which was cloud focused, scalable, more cost effective and easier to manage.
This is exactly what Microsoft now offers with its AVD service.
6 pointers for a quick overview:
- Azure Virtual Desktop is the only service which offers fully-managed multi-session Windows 10/11 Enterprise with Office 365 ProPlus from the cloud.
- The service supports a number of operating systems including Windows 10/11 multi-session, Windows 10/11 single-session, Windows 7 single-session, Windows Server 2012 R2 and newer operating systems.
- On the hardware side, you can provide AVD to all kinds of devices including Windows PCs, Macs as well as iPads, iPhones, and Android devices. It is also accessible via any modern browser with the HTML5 client.
- The advantages over traditional remote desktop services (RDS) are numerous (watch Microsoft’s 9-Minute introductory video if you want to hear them all), with the most significant advantages being its pay-what-you-use model and the ability to pool resources, which drastically lowers costs. On top of that, there’s easier scalability and deployment, as well as a much more “natural” desktop performance for users. Finally, everyone can access desktop and applications centrally, while admins no longer need to manage and secure windows, applications and data on every user’s local computer.
- The main requirement for AVD is an Azure subscription, which will include the amount of storage your business requires, the virtual machines and the compute resources they consume. Full and up-to-date details are available on the Microsoft Azure site.
- Remember, Azure Virtual Desktop is no one-stop shop for all your needs. As you can imagine, just providing a desktop isn’t going to be a lot of use to your team – you’ll need to leverage the network of supporting integrations to make it work for you. Official launch partners include CloudJumper, IGEL and ezeep (that’s us!). ezeep enables you to connect to existing print infrastructure to AVD, bridging the gap between hardware and the cloud for the best Azure Virtual Desktop printing experience possible.
What About Azure Virtual Desktop Pricing?
One of the best things about Azure Virtual Desktop is that you only pay for the Azure Virtual Machines and Azure Storage consumed by users during use.
Compared to other remote desktop offerings, the amount of costs that can be saved here are potentially enormous.
That being said, is not so easy at first to get a ball-park figure of Azure Virtual Desktop pricing due to the large number of variables which make each environment different. Decision-makers need to consider a couple of things, like the number of VMs and the level of micro-management you’re willing to take on.
Your best bet is to consult the AVD portal and work out which plan is most suitable. For example, if you’re willing to reserve your virtual machines in advance on a yearly or 3 year period, check out the Azure Reserved VM Instances (RIs) page. Microsoft provides a few Azure Virtual Desktop pricing examples on the Azure website too. There’s also a pricing calculator which you can try out.
Azure Virtual Desktop Migration
The overall flexibility and savings which can be made year in, year out, coupled with appealing licensing, will make Azure Virtual Desktop an attractive option for most. Once you are sure that AVD is the right fit for your organization, you’ll just need the required technical know-how for migration. The process is not 100% self-explanatory however, so a good way for your Azure Virtual Desktop Migration is to consult other deployment videos online.
Azure Virtual Desktop Printing Solutions
Learn more about which solutions ezeep Blue offers your enterprise
Related Posts
- Reviewing the User Experience with Azure Virtual Desktop
We’ve tested the solution in house extensively, so how does AVD feel in the real world? We give our impressions on the user experience. - Setting Your Own Custom URL for AVD’s HTML 5 Client
Right now, all users access their browser-based virtual desktops via the same link. This can be changed with Azure Functions. - What is Microsoft App Attach?
Microsoft designed a new type of technology, called App Attach, especially for AVD. Read on to learn how applications can be stored outside a virtual machine. - Using Azure Virtual Desktop with iPadOS
Why the ezeep team is especially happy about two iPadOS innovations and what they have to do with AVD can be found in our video and blog post. - Azure Virtual Desktop Printing with MacOs, iPad and iPhone
Working with AVD on Mac, iPhone and iPad can be done with full printer support and minus the clunky printing procedures. We explain how.