As a DaaS offering, Azure WVD is highly cost-effective compared to scaling up a traditional virtual desktop environment in your own data center. With the business disruption during COVID-19, companies were trying to find ways to extend their remote work infrastructure while keeping their operating expenses low. Companies already on a Microsoft ecosystem, such as Windows 10 Enterprise or Microsoft 365, had additional incentives to make the shift; I will explain why further down.
Another driver for Azure WVD during this time is that it lets organizations control apps and data while allowing their employees to access those resources from their own devices. This is something that a traditional VDI/RDS environment can also provide; however, the cost advantage of Azure WVD, when combined with security and control, creates a winning combination.
Following are some of the benefits of using Azure WVD
Licensing
New licensing systems decrease complexity and offer generous cost savings. To begin with, businesses do not have to deal with separate Windows Server licensing agreements. Secondly, one receives Windows 7 extended support without needing added end-of-life support payments.
The WVD service features usage rights included in Windows E3 and Office 365 Pro Plus licenses for the sole multi-user cloud VDI. This is where you need not pay for hardware dedicated to your clients.
The ESUs for Windows 7 comes at no cost, provided you are not going to complete migration by Jan 2020. As a result, businesses managing legacy apps that only run on Windows 7 continue to benefit from shifting to cloud-based VDI as part of a wider digital transformation initiative.
Simplified & Secure Access
WVD consists of the managed control plane service and the OS licensing itself. It does not cover your Azure resource consumption expenses that are user, application, and Azure region dependent. The free control plane, the software responsible for organizing the formation and management of app and desktop session hosts, authenticates users and decides where to route their desktop connections. So, businesses need not set up VMs for functions such as diagnostics, web access, request brokers, and application gateways.
Efficiency
WVD resides with integrated Microsoft components like Office 365 and your OneDrive data in Azure to deliver fast response time and efficiencies.
Flexibility
From a business perspective, WVD has a lot to offer. The solution brings new use cases, such as supporting gig economies in which businesses contract with independent workers for short-term projects. Contractors can implement BYOD policies and establish secure connections to the Azure cloud to access the data and apps they need for carrying out their tasks. Learn more about Azure managed services in detail.
I hope this information will be helpful!
Mark Wilson
