Azure Virtual Desktop: The flexible cloud VDI platform for the hybrid workplace | Azure Blog and Updates

After we launched Home windows Digital Desktop almost two years in the past, nobody predicted a world pandemic would drive thousands and thousands of employees to go away the workplace and do business from home. Organizations world wide migrated vital apps and information to the cloud to achieve enterprise resilience and agility. And to assist the brand new distant workforce, a lot of you turned to Home windows Digital Desktop to present distant customers a safe, straightforward to handle, productive private computing expertise with Home windows 10 from the cloud. It has been humbling to work alongside you as you pivoted your operations to satisfy new challenges—from supporting frontline healthcare employees at NHS to engineers at Petrofac to educators and college students—hear from a few of the high UK universities on their expertise with Azure Digital Desktop. 

Going ahead, organizations might want to assist an evolving set of distant and hybrid work situations. To assist our clients and companions meet these new hybrid work calls for, we’re increasing our imaginative and prescient to develop into a versatile cloud VDI platform for almost any use case—accessible from just about wherever. A contemporary VDI platform must be safe, scalable, and simple to handle, whereas delivering a seamless, high-performance expertise to finish customers. It also needs to empower organizations with the flexibleness to customise and construct options with its core know-how.

To assist this broader imaginative and prescient and the altering wants of our clients, right now we’re asserting new capabilities, new pricing for app streaming, and altering the title of the Home windows Digital Desktop service to Azure Digital Desktop.

New platform capabilities for safety and administration

We’re frequently including new capabilities to the core Azure Digital Desktop platform. Right this moment we’re additionally happy to announce the public preview of recent options that can provide help to onboard and higher handle your Azure Digital Desktop deployment.

• Enhanced assist for Azure Lively Listing (coming quickly in public preview): Azure Lively Listing is a vital service utilized by organizations world wide to handle consumer entry to vital apps and information and keep robust safety controls. We’re happy to announce that you simply’ll quickly have the ability to be a part of your Azure Digital Desktop digital machines on to Azure Lively Listing (AAD) and hook up with the digital machines from any system with primary credentials. You’ll additionally have the ability to mechanically enroll the digital machines with Microsoft Endpoint Supervisor. For sure situations, this can assist get rid of the necessity for a website controller, assist scale back value, and streamline your deployment. Whereas this can be a main milestone, it’s just the start of the journey in the direction of full integration with Azure Lively Listing. We’ll proceed including new capabilities similar to assist for single sign-on, extra credential sorts like FIDO2, and Azure Information for cloud customers.

• Handle Home windows 10 Enterprise multi-session digital machines with Microsoft Endpoint Supervisor (out there now in preview): Microsoft Endpoint Supervisor means that you can handle insurance policies and distribute functions throughout units. Now you can enroll Home windows 10 Enterprise multi-session Azure Digital Desktop digital machines in Microsoft Endpoint Supervisor and handle them within the Microsoft Endpoint Supervisor admin middle the identical means as shared bodily units. This simplifies administration and gives a centralized view throughout each bodily units and digital desktops. Learn the Home windows 10 Enterprise multi-session documentation to study extra.

• Deploy in minutes with new onboarding expertise (coming quickly in preview): We’re happy to supply a streamlined onboarding expertise for Azure Digital Desktop within the Azure portal. This new expertise will validate necessities, kick off an automatic deployment, and also will implement finest practices. With only some clicks, you may arrange a full Azure Digital Desktop setting in your Azure subscription.

New pricing choices for distant app streaming

Many organizations are utilizing Azure Digital Desktop to stream apps to their very own staff who’re lined by present license entitlements. However many organizations additionally need to use Azure Digital Desktop to ship functions “as-a-service” to clients and enterprise companions as properly.

Right this moment we’re happy to announce a month-to-month per-user entry pricing possibility for organizations to make use of Azure Digital Desktop to ship apps from the cloud to exterior customers. For instance, this is able to allow software program distributors to ship their app as a SaaS resolution that may be accessed by their clients. Along with the month-to-month consumer value for Azure Digital Desktop, organizations additionally pay for Azure infrastructure companies primarily based on utilization.

Here is what one ISV needed to say in regards to the new pricing possibility:

“Sage is trusted by thousands and thousands of shoppers worldwide to ship revolutionary enterprise options to handle funds, operations and other people. Streaming functions with Azure Digital Desktop makes it straightforward to streamline consumer entry to our options on the Azure cloud for an incredible on-line buyer expertise.” James Westlake, Director of Product Administration, Sage.

Attempt it throughout our promotional interval

The brand new per-user entry pricing possibility will likely be efficient on January 1, 2022. To assist organizations get began now, we’re happy to supply a particular promotion with no cost to entry Azure Digital Desktop for streaming first-party or third-party functions to exterior customers. This promotion is efficient from July 14, 2021, to December 31, 2021.

Pricing for month-to-month consumer entry rights efficient on January 1, 2022, will likely be:

•    $5.50 per consumer per thirty days (Apps)

•    $10 per consumer per thirty days (Apps + Desktops)

This promotion solely applies to exterior consumer entry rights. Organizations would proceed to pay for the underlying Azure infrastructure. Organizations ought to proceed to make use of present Home windows license entitlements, similar to Microsoft 365 E3 or Home windows E3 and better, for app streaming to their staff. Go to our net web page for extra particulars.

Increasing accomplice ecosystem

As a cloud VDI platform, we work carefully with our companions and empower them to construct options that meet your wants. For instance, Citrix and VMware present desktop and app virtualization options that leverage the Azure Digital Desktop platform capabilities, similar to Home windows 10 Enterprise multi-session, and let you maximize your present investments and use the instruments and options with which you’re already acquainted. We’re additionally pleased with our ecosystem of lots of of companions who construct customized options and supply technical consulting that will help you deploy with confidence. Go to Azure Market for extra data on accomplice options, and the Superior Specialization web page for licensed deployment companions.

Getting began

My workforce and I stay up for partnering with you to take full benefit of our versatile VDI platform within the cloud and unlock new end-user computing prospects. We recognize your ongoing assist and welcome your suggestions. Be part of us in our Tech Neighborhood to attach with my workforce and different clients and companions to share your suggestions and solutions. To study extra about these bulletins, please join our upcoming webinar.