Getting Started With Azure Virtual Desktop 101
Today’s modern enterprises need to examine their options to adapt to innovative technologies. If they don’t, it’ll be more difficult to run efficiently, maintain a happy workforce and maintain a competitive advantage in their industry. Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) is a newer desktop app and virtualization service that is powered on Microsoft Azure, providing businesses with a way to deliver a seamless experience to their remote and hybrid workers.
This product goes a step beyond conventional virtual desktop infrastructure solutions. It encompasses technology advancements with Microsoft’s cloud expertise, along with improvements to security features. AVD is considered by many to be an optimal solution for enterprises looking to implement AVD for remote work.
This article will provide a closer look at Azure Virtual Desktop, its key features and what enterprises can do to learn how to connect to Azure Virtual Desktop.
What is Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD)?
Formerly called Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD), Azure Virtual Desktop is a cloud solution that runs through installed virtual machines. AVD does not run off or need to be installed on local equipment, it is a pure cloud solution, which can free up physical space and eliminate the need for organizations to maintain dedicated servers.
Microsoft’s latest virtual experience is easy for users to navigate and provides businesses with a strong level of secure virtual desktop infrastructure. Since AVD operates on Microsoft’s Azure platform, it possesses the ability to leverage the tech giant’s vast infrastructure. Everything remote or hybrid workers need runs on complete virtual machines, giving businesses a way to provide their users with a 100% cloud-based virtual desktop experience.
What Operating Systems are Required for AVD?
To run Azure Virtual Desktop, an enterprise can be configured to run on Windows 11 multi session, Windows 11 single session, Windows 10 multi session, Windows 10 single-session and single-session Windows 7. Your enterprise can also run AVD on Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2019 and Windows Server 2022.
What Licenses are Necessary to Run AVD?
To empower your enterprise to run AVD, Microsoft does require all businesses to obtain a license. Valid licenses allowing you access to AVD include:
- Microsoft 365 E3/E5
- Microsoft 365 A3/A5/Student Use Benefits
- Microsoft 365 F3
- Microsoft 365 Business Premium
- Windows 11 & Windows 10 Enterprise E3/E5
- Windows 11 & Windows 10 Education A3/A5
- Windows 11 & Windows 10 VDA per user
- RDS Client Access License (CAL) license with active Software Assurance (SA) (per-user or per-device)
- RDS User Subscription License
- RDS Subscriber Access License (SAL) (per-user)
Your managed service provider can help you evaluate if you have the correct licenses or help you identify the best license option for your enterprise to utilize.
Key Features of AVD
AVD’s desktop and app virtualization experience delivers users with a fully modernized Windows experience while simultaneously helping enterprises reduce IT expenditures and increase productivity and efficiency. Key features of AVD include:
- Capacity to access Windows desktops from any location, giving employees full remote experience in environments they’re familiar with
- Ability to assign devices to a single user or deploy multi session for scalability
- Deliver SaaS opportunities for external use
- Allow multiple users to access a singular virtual machine (avoid maintaining multiple licenses)
- Provide a unified management experience to manage desktops and apps from different Windows OS or Windows Servers
- Maintain full control over configuration and management
- Option to utilize RemoteApp to deliver individual apps
- Install line-of-business or custom apps that can be run from any location
- Empower collaboration through integration with other tools, such as Microsoft Teams
- Establish user profiles with FSLogix
- Increase and simplify security procedures for remote workforces accessing virtual desktops; security is managed in a single, consolidated center
These are only a handful of the key features an AVD experience offers. Your enterprise can update its infrastructure to a more modern experience and enable it to replace existing remote desktop services (RDS).
What are the Benefits of AVD?
AVD offers businesses many other advantages, especially when you consider its ease of remote access and seamless integration with Microsoft 365. Other benefits your enterprise can enjoy with the ability to connect to Azure Virtual Desktop include:
Increasing Cost Efficiency
While licenses are required to gain access to the Azure Virtual Desktop experience, the good news is existing Windows or Microsoft 365 licenses meet the criteria to access AVD and only pay for what they use. If you already have MS 365, you do not have to pay for separate licenses or additional contractual commitments.
The centralization of management costs in the cloud can also significantly reduce technology overhead expenses while simultaneously eliminating the need to put the burden on capital spending for onsite equipment and IT staff. This is an easy and straightforward way to consolidate resources, putting more money back into your company’s budget to use for other important items. Technology investments are costly and often become outdated fairly quickly these days. Azure’s pay-as-you-go business model provides a huge money-saving opportunity, since you do not have to make a massive upfront investment in modern technologies that may become obsolete fairly quickly.
Adding Scalability
A key advantage of AVD is the fact that businesses can scale their services on demand. This means they can level services up or down based on current needs. Azure Portal will serve as your centralized management hub and empower you to add or remove virtual machines and/or users as necessary, configure network settings, enable and manage security and deploy desktop apps.
Essentially, use whatever you need, when you need to. You’ll never need to worry about purchasing resources you do not end up using or budgeting for technologies you may or may not need. With AVD, you can simply adjust at any time you need to, even if you need to do it on the fly.
Boosting Flexibility
AVD offers your employees a high level of flexibility since they can access a virtual desktop or application from any location at any time. They can also use their own devices. With the upgraded and modernized features Microsoft has built into its AVD product, users can better work in a multi-session environment with a seamless experience.
This can all be done with an Azure subscription without the need for gateway servers. You’ll also have flexible configuration options to accommodate the diverse needs of your users while giving them individual ownership through personal desktops.
Improving Security Posture
One of the most common reasons why enterprises decide to transition to Azure Virtual Desktop is to bolster their security postures. While security has been an important element to think about for a long time now, when mass numbers of employees had to shift to remote work in 2020, this highlighted a need to better secure virtual work environments.
In this respect, AVD delivers. Equipped with its own security functions, such as encryption, and being fully integrated with Microsoft 365’s security, you can control and consolidate data. This means you can reduce risks from threat actors because major security flaws are resolved. Your employees will not be responsible for establishing security protocols, it’s all handled through AVD.
Furthermore, Azure utilizes Active Directory, so you can enjoy the continuation of multi-factor authentication if you already have AD set up.
Ensuring Compliance
AVD currently meets all prominent compliance requirements, such as HIPAA, GDPR and PCI DSS. Compliance requirements are highly fluid, with necessary government and industry changes occurring all the time. When you use AVD, you can rest assured many compliance issues will automatically be adjusted so you do not find yourself non-compliant or facing stiff penalties.
Ease of Use for Employees
Upgrading or changing technology typically involves high stress for employees or, worse, brings on resistance to change. Either way, it is never easy to implement organizational change that disrupts the day-to-day activities of users.
A significant benefit to AVD is the fact that employees can continue to operate in familiar environments. Implementing AVD involves little to no training. Your users will not have to learn a new system because they will work on the same desktop they always have. The biggest change is they’ll need to log into an Azure remote desktop, which is just like logging into Microsoft 365.
How Does AVD Work?
At this point, you might be wondering how to access Azure Virtual Desktop. When learning how to set up Azure Virtual Desktop, you’ll need to take a few steps, including creating host pools to cater to diverse workloads, establishing virtual machines and then deploying the product.
How you do so will depend upon whether your users will be connecting using Azure Virtual Desktop Client (easiest), Remote Desktop (for frequent users) or PowerShell, along with creating access to align with the specific devices being used to access AVD. Some components of establishing AVD in any connection scenario involve several steps, along with establishing specific protocols and technical details.
Once established, your users can enjoy pooled, multi session resources. If you do not have the personnel or resources to establish AVD in your organization, working with a skilled and knowledgeable managed service provider can help get you set up.
What Do Enterprises Need to Get Started with AVD?
To establish Azure Virtual Desktop in your organization, you will need to take care of a few details. The first step is to create a (free) account. Then, you’ll need to make certain your enterprise has an active Azure subscription. The good news is that chances are you already have one through a Microsoft 365 license, but if not, it is not difficult to obtain a subscription with one of the several license options (as described above).
Next, establish an identity provider – such as Microsoft Entra ID or Active Directory – so your users can authenticate themselves and be able to access AVD. Your identity provider will also enable your users to link to session hosts, so your users can join. This will involve setting up permissions.
A final step is to establish user accounts. How this is accomplished will depend on how you establish your identity provider.
AVD Just Makes Sense for Many Enterprises
Microsoft has made significant strides in developing and maintaining cloud-based options for businesses. As a result, many enterprises find the simplicity and ease of Azure Virtual Desktop to be an optimal cloud solution that meets their needs.
When you factor in key benefits, such as cost-efficiency, scalability, flexibility, security, compliance and ease of use for employees, it is not a surprise many find Microsoft’s latest virtual experience that AVD offers to be the right solution.
Ready to Install and Set Up Your Azure Virtual Desktop? Red River Can Help
After examining your options and determining Azure Virtual Desktop is the best solution for your organization, Red River can assist in integrating AVD into your current technology stack in the most cost-efficient manner possible. As a Microsoft Azure Partner, our team of experts is well-versed in auditing your current systems and identifying the best approach.
Red River can work closely with you to set up Azure Virtual Desktop or, if you feel AVD is not the right virtual solution, our professional experts will go the extra mile to help you find another cloud-based solution that better aligns with your organization’s current setup.
To learn more about how Red River can help modernize your infrastructure to deliver an optimal remote experience for your users, contact us today. We’re happy to discuss your options and answer any questions.
