The global corona pandemic has made homeworking the norm in many companies. As a result, IT departments often face a major challenge: users must suddenly have access to their desktop, both inside and outside the company.

Desktop virtualization can be a solution in this case by offering a virtual workplace solution, where users can log on to their desktop from anywhere and on any device. The company's data is also more secure. They are stored centrally in the data center and the virtual desktop can be configured in such a way that these data can only be stored there.

Desktop virtualization can also provide an answer to specific business needs, ranging from regulatory and compliance requirements, to requirements for specific or temporary workers, to supporting specific workloads.

However, a classic virtual desktop environment also has some disadvantages:

• The cost can be quite high. This is because it a considerable amount of server infrastructure is required. The cost of the hardware and the licenses means that this is not a viable solution for many companies.
• The server infrastructure is also quite complex, which adds to the cost of setup and management.
• The user experience is not always optimal, specifically when using Office 365.

Windows Virtual Desktop to the rescue

Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD) provides a complete Windows and Office virtual desktop experience, to be delivered from the Microsoft Azure data centers. It is the only cloud service that enables a full Windows 10 experience for multiple users and that is optimized for Office 365 ProPlus. As such, WVD eliminates the main drawbacks of a classic virtual desktop environment:

• The server infrastructure is provided and managed by Microsoft, which means that all focus can go to building the virtual desktop itself.
• Because the infrastructure is provided from the Azure data centers, it can easily be scaled, based on your needs. Azure's pay-per-use principle means you only pay for what you really need.
• The Windows 10 desktops can be used without any additional license cost if you already have a Windows or Microsoft 365 license.
• WVD provides a quick set-up and guarantees good performance for Outlook, OneDrive, Teams, ...

More information can also be found on the Microsoft website.

What can Inetum-Realdolmen do for you?

Managed Cloud Virtual Desktop

Inetum-Realdolmen’s automated solution provides not only a quick set-up of your virtual desktop environment but also a complete unburdening in terms of its management. Once set up, we will onboard your solution into our Azure Cloud Services, our offering for Managed Services on Azure. We will take care of monitoring, incident and problem management, update management, change management and backup, so you can focus on what's really important: your business, with a high-performance and carefree environment.

Of course, there is no 'one size fits all' solution: your business is unique, so we’d like to respond to this by adapting the solution to your specific requirements. From published applications over a shared desktop to a fully customized desktop with dedicated GPUs, graphics processors, to serve even the most demanding users, it's all possible.

We are also happy to help you build your golden image or migrate an existing virtual desktop environment to WVD. If required, we can also provide end-user support.

We offer our Managed Cloud Virtual Desktop at a fixed monthly price, depending on the 'T-shirt size'. Including our Managed Services and the Azure cost. Easy, right?

Windows Virtual Desktop Proof-of-Concept

Seeing is believing? No problem. We have developed a Proof-of-Concept formula for this: in 4 days we set up a WVD environment for 15 users, with one line-of-business application and the Office suite. With the use of policies, we tailor this environment to your needs and also set up the monitoring. You are then given time to test the environment, after which we will implement a number of optimizations based on your findings. We conclude with a 'lessons-learned' workshop in which we openly evaluate what was good, what could be better and what must be improved, before you can really make a choice for WVD.