Windows 10 Multi-Session Is Now in Azure
Microsoft has finally released the public preview of Windows Virtual Desktop. Before you make a large end-user computing investment, give it a try.
Windows Virtual Desktop is a service that supports Windows 10 multi-session, Windows 10 single-session, Windows 7 single-session, and Windows Server on Azure. Julia White, Corporate Vice President for Microsoft Azure, and Brad Anderson, Corporate Vice President for Microsoft 365, announced the public preview release on March 21, 2019, as well as special integrations with Citrix Cloud and Samsung DeX.
According to Microsoft, it is “the only service that delivers simplified management, a multi-session Windows 10 experience, optimizations for Office 365 ProPlus, and support for Windows Server Remote Desktop Services (RDS) desktops and apps.”
Windows Virtual Desktops can be accessed via a downloadable client for PCs, via these browsers on Windows, macOS, Linux, and Chrome OS (but not on Android or iOS), and via Citrix Workspace. You can find Microsoft Windows Virtual Desktop documentation on Microsoft Docs.
Our Take
Windows 10 can already be run as a virtual desktop in your own data center or in Amazon WorkSpaces. So, why would you use Windows Virtual Desktop as opposed to Windows 10 VMs running on VMware servers or in AWS? Some of the benefits are:
- Simplified Windows 10 cloud-based VDI environment
- Improved capabilities with Citrix Cloud
- Multi-session capabilities
- Office 365 ProPlus “optimizations”
- Licensing everything through Microsoft (and potentially Citrix)
- An opex model for end-user computing.
If you need to upgrade your VDI data center soon, Windows Virtual Desktop offers a simplified opex alternative.
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