Going Virtual: 5 Ways Azure Virtual Desktop Shines Brightest
The virtual desktop is arguably one of the most significant technologies of the past decade. Its role in remote work has been pivotal, providing employees with secure and consistent access to their work environments from anywhere.
If your organization enlists remote/hybrid work solutions, adopting virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) is a no-brainer. But what’s the best way to approach things? How can your organization get the most from its virtual desktops?
If you’re looking for some guidance, you’ve come to the right place. We’re going to answer the above questions, as well as highlight the strengths of what we consider the most effective enterprise-level virtual desktop management solution.
But first, an even more basic question…
What is a Virtual Desktop?
The concept is a simple one. Let’s say you’re working from home, and your home computer doesn’t meet a particular application’s requirements. No problem. You shift over, or “remote,” to your office computer and – presto, everything works.
Virtual desktops work in a very similar way. However, instead of remoting into a physical device like your office computer, you remote into a virtual device hosted on the cloud.
Having defined what virtual desktops are, let’s talk about what they can do – and, by extension, why they’re a good choice for growing businesses like yours. To highlight the benefits of VDI, we’re going to talk about a particular virtual desktop management solution, one that stand out for its scalability, security, and cost-efficiency: Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD).
What Makes Azure Special
The primary benefit of Azure is also what makes it so special.
Unlike some traditional VDI, Microsoft’s platform removes nearly all of the backend headaches that would normally accompany a virtual desktop. With AVD, you don’t have to worry about providing your own hosting server, establish which virtual devices you’ll be using, or stay on top of maintenance. Talk about a weight of your company’s shoulders.
The fact is Azure makes managing your VDI simple. Microsoft provides the licensing, maintenance, network setup, storage, and hosting. The amount of time and energy this will spare you is considerable. But the benefits don’t stop there…
Unmatched Flexibility
Imagine being able to grant any employee access to any computer, anytime and from anywhere. Imagine not having to worry about expensive installations, logistically challenging computer shipments, or untimely hardware failures.
AVD allows you to deploy systems on the fly, and removes familiar limitations such as location and hardware requirements. This type of agility is now more important than ever as remote work continues to increase.
Moreover, procurement with AVD is quick, with only minutes between purchasing a license and having access to a new virtual machine. AVD and other high-performing VDI management solutions makes adding and removing computers a breeze.
Advanced Security
Cybersecurity is one of, if not the greatest challenges businesses face today. It’s extremely difficult to prevent all cyberattacks, and all it takes is one to wreak absolute havoc on your business.
Moving to an AVD environment can help greatly reduce your organization’s level of risk. Physical machines can be easily lost, stolen, or tampered with physically. A virtual machine hosted on Microsoft’s cloud can’t. That’s because these machines exist within Azure’s secure environment, home to over 3,500 cybersecurity experts. You’ll also benefit from a slew of security features such as multi-factor authentication, access control, constant security updates, and vulnerability patching. When you go with AVD, you can rest easy knowing that the safety of your virtual machines is in more-than-capable hands.
Cost Efficiency
Organizations can expect to pay upwards of thousands of dollars for a quality business-grade laptop every 4 to 5 years as hardware grows obsolete – a pretty penny. AVD removes the issue of outdated hardware by providing preconfigured operating systems and applications known as images. These images are constantly updated and kept current for AVD users, so you won’t have to worry as much about budgeting for computer replacements.
To purchase these images, AVD offers two payment options: subscriptions and pay-as-you-go. Subscriptions are as straightforward as they sound, with several options between yearly and monthly billing. If signing up for a subscription doesn’t appeal to you, pay-as-you-go bills are based purely on usage. This means no more expensive computers sitting around collecting dust – pay for only the time you use!
Improved Disaster Recovery
When disaster strikes, you’re going to want to have a disaster recovery plan in place. This isn’t a matter of if but when. Just take a look at this IT Outage Impact Study that reported that from 2019 to 2022, 96% of organizations experienced at least one incident of downtime. AVD can both help prepare and react to disaster through its built-in disaster recovery plans and cloud-based data storage. Gone are the risks of corrupted or damaged physical devices or failed backups. AVD will help minimize downtime and swiftly recover data during the worst of the worst. And although no one is truly safe from disaster, you’ll still have those 3,500 security experts ready to assist.
Digital Footprint > Carbon Footprint
There’s no denying a virtual system will have less environmental impact than a physical one. Studies show that cloud computing through Azure can be up to 93% more energy-efficient compared to an on-premises environment. Moving to a virtual environment means using less energy, generating less heat, and avoiding the need to recycle old hardware. By providing machines virtually, you also eliminate any need to ship
computers to remote employees. No shipping = No emissions. Calculations suggest that a company with 1000 employees can reduce its digital carbon footprint by approximately 41.5 tons of CO2 every year through the use of VDI.
Virtualize Your Future
If your organization isn’t already utilizing VDI to bolster remote work, it’s time for a change! And if you want a reliable, proven, and cost-effective way to manage all your virtual machines, you can’t go wrong with AVD. Microsoft’s powerful virtual desktop management platform isn’t just a fancy new tool; it’s a proven solution to the various challenges of remote work, and a great way to fend off cyberattacks and boost productivity.
Looking for Help?
Transitioning to AVD (or any kind of virtual desktop solution) is a big change. If you’re diving into AVD for the first time, consider reaching out to The 20 MSP for guidance. We’ve helped hundreds of our clients go virtual and can help your company do the same. Avoid the stress of figuring things out for yourself and let our experienced and friendly team handle everything.
Get in touch with The 20 MSP today!
