Are you using Windows PCs, legacy virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), or Azure Virtual Desktop and considering a move to Windows 365 Enterprise or Windows 365 Frontline Cloud PCs? Let’s look at the differences among these options and the elements of migrating to Windows 365 including management with Microsoft Intune. In this article, we’ll cover:
- How we got here – a brief history of virtualization at Microsoft
- Considerations: Azure Virtual Desktop and Windows 365
- Migration scenarios: Azure Virtual Desktop and Windows 365
- Windows 365 and Windows 365 Frontline
- Cloud-native management with Microsoft Intune
- Management with the use of built-in gallery images
- Easily migrate user profiles, documents, photos, and more
- Learn more about migrating to Windows 365
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Note: We’re assuming that you have a baseline understanding of the offerings mentioned here. At the end of this article, we’ll provide additional resources to learn more about deploying Windows 365. |
How we got here – a brief history of virtualization at Microsoft
You might be curious about the virtualization revolution at Microsoft and how we got where we are now. In 1985, Microsoft had a vision of “A computer on every desk in every home.” At the time, this seemed like an impossible feat, but now we know it wasn’t. In 1994, Microsoft introduced the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) 4.0 in Windows NT4, revolutionizing the way IT administrators managed servers remotely. We could connect to server operating systems without physically being in front of them. A year later, Windows NT introduced the UI that gave us the Start menu and taskbar that still facilitate billions of users today.
Windows virtualization continued to evolve with the introduction of Remote Desktop Services (RDS). However, this still required a control plane that included a web server, gateway, and broker, along with the session host for user sessions. This model continued until the launch of Microsoft Azure in 2012, which brought new opportunities such as hosting RDS on Azure via Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS).
This led to the control plane becoming a cloud-based service called Windows Virtual Desktop (now Azure Virtual Desktop) and the acquisition of FSLogix in 2018. Virtualization and the cloud industry evolved, and, in turn, virtualization-specific skills became standard in every business. As applications shifted to Software as a Service (SaaS) subscription models and became easier to maintain and scalable, cloud virtualization lagged in simplicity. Virtualization needed something completely turnkey that would provide a migration like that from Microsoft Office to Microsoft 365.
Thus, Windows 365 was created as a new vision for the future of Windows, a cloud service with Cloud PC as the endpoint managed by Microsoft. By 2023, after just four and a half years with Azure Virtual Desktop and two and a half years with Windows 365, Microsoft was positioned as a leader in virtualization. Now, Microsoft is honored to be recognized for the second consecutive year as a Leader in the 2024 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Desktop as a Service (DaaS).
Now, let’s jump in and consider the differences between Azure Virtual Desktop and Windows 365!
Considerations: Azure Virtual Desktop and Windows 365
Azure Virtual Desktop is a cloud VDI platform that delivers hosted desktops and apps with maximum flexibility and control. Windows 365 is a SaaS solution that securely streams personalized Windows desktop, apps, settings, and content from the Microsoft Cloud to any device. Management of on-premises VDI, Azure Virtual Desktop, and Windows 365 differ regarding roles and responsibilities as shown in the table below. Some of the responsibilities that are unique capabilities for Windows 365 and managed by Microsoft include capacity, disaster recovery, scalability and self-service as-a-service. If you’re looking for a solution that’s optimized for simplicity and user experience, consider Windows 365 today!
In the table below, you’ll see a comparison of the primary differences between Azure Virtual Desktop and Windows 365 from a feature-level supportability perspective.
Windows 365 reflects a computing revolution, moving PCs to the cloud while maintaining “like-local” experiences that are manageable via Microsoft Intune without needing specialized skills. This principal guides Windows 365 and its newest like-local end-user experience features. For example, Boot and Switch allows anyone familiar with Windows to sign in effortlessly, unlike traditional VDI, or even, in some cases, Cloud VDI via Azure Virtual Desktop, which often require specific instructions and assistance.
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"Windows 365 is easy to use, up-to-date, secure, and compliant. And it's always available, with a seamless experience anywhere." |
In the table below, we provide additional key points of comparison for pricing, scalability, expertise required, and how customer/partner/provider responsibilities are distributed across the solutions.
Migration scenarios: Azure Virtual Desktop and Windows 365
Now that we’ve reviewed various factors for virtualization solutions, let’s consider how the starting point is an essential consideration when deciding whether to migrate to Azure Virtual Desktop or Windows 365. If your starting point is a scenario in which you’re running physical PCs without any virtualization in place or a scenario that uses VDI, our recommendation is to start small. Begin with a migration to Windows 365, focus on a select group of devices first; then, incorporate Azure Virtual Desktop as a parallel solution if and when necessary. This will help kick off your journey to modernize your infrastructure and simplify your current desktop virtualization technology and approach. If you want to delve into which scenarios are best for Windows 365 and/or Azure Virtualization Desktop, watch Exploring cloud solutions: Insights and sample scenarios.
Windows 365 and Windows 365 Frontline
Windows 365 delivers Cloud PCs—a complete and secure Windows experience hosted in the Microsoft Cloud and accessible on a wide range of devices. Whether your employees are full-time or contractors, they can access their personalized Windows apps, settings, desktop, and data on the device of their choice and from wherever they work. Windows 365 Cloud PCs help enable bring-your-own PC (BYOPC) programs, onboard employees within minutes, reduce management and security challenges, and ensure your workforce is always up and running.
Windows 365 Frontline provides the same feature stack and benefits of Windows 365 with the added flexibility to provide Cloud PCs for up to three users with the purchase of a single Windows 365 license. This is an ideal solution for frontline shift workers and seasonal staff.
Cloud-native management with Microsoft Intune
With Microsoft Intune and Microsoft Entra ID, Cloud PCs are easy to deploy, configure, manage, and secure, so you can maximize existing technology resources to meet the needs of your employees.
Intune is an integrated solution that simplifies management and lowers total cost of ownership (TCO) across multiple operating systems, cloud, on-premises, mobile, desktop, and virtualized endpoints, including Cloud PCs. It empowers organizations to provide data protection and endpoint compliance that support a Zero Trust security model. This unified management tool brings together device visibility, endpoint security, and data-driven insights to increase IT efficiency and improve user experiences in any work environment.
From the Intune admin center, you can manage Windows 365 Cloud PCs side by side with other devices running Android Enterprise, iOS/iPadOS, macOS, ChromeOS, and Linux.
Additional benefits to cloud-based management with Intune include the ability to:
- Build a Zero Trust security architecture with a management solution that integrates endpoint security and centralized device compliance based on identity.
- Cut costs and reduce complexity by managing any device with a single unified tool that’s already integrated into Microsoft 365.
- Comanage domain-joined PCs with Intune if you have an on-premises Microsoft Configuration Manager environment.
Management with the use of built-in gallery images
Based on insights we gained from this year’s “DaaS Like a Pro” survey, we see many virtualization administrators are still using custom image management, also known as golden image management. This isn’t an easy or efficient process, so instead, we recommend using the gallery images built into Windows 365. With VDI, you might have updated your image on a weekly basis due to the use of custom images. Instead, using a gallery image within Windows 365 provisioning policies eliminates the challenge of repeatedly having to update your custom image whenever a single component changes. Then, you can use Intune for image management and to install applications.
However, you can use custom images with Windows 365 if needed. To do so, you need to preload your images via Azure as custom images. Windows 365 admins can use the Azure Virtual Desktop custom image template feature to automate the custom image build process with built-in scripts that are ready to use and easily accessible via the Azure Portal. Learn more about custom image templates and Azure Virtual Desktop. To learn more about creating custom images with Windows 365, read Add or delete custom device images.
Easily migrate user profiles, documents, photos, and more
If you’re using any virtualization solution with Microsoft OneDrive, we recommend enabling the OneDrive Known Folder Move feature. This allows you to synchronize the user’s desktop, pictures, videos, and documents with OneDrive. Windows 365 supports the OneDrive Known Folder Move feature out-of-the-box, so the first time the user signs in, the files will be there. Windows 365 uses local profiles to remove the complexity of profile management with solutions like FSLogix profile container. Cloud PCs are personal, and they are dedicated to the user. The user’s Cloud PC is replicated across multiple zones in an Azure region and automated restore points make the profile high availability as part of the service.
Enterprise State Roaming provides unified experiences across Windows devices. Enable this in your Microsoft Entra ID tenant settings to ensure your personalized Windows settings are coming over. To ensure a seamless browsing experience and retain favorites/bookmarks, passwords, and settings, use Microsoft Edge enterprise sync.
Learn more about migrating to Windows 365
Here are some additional resources to help you dive deeper into Windows 365 and Microsoft Intune.
Getting started
- Create provisioning policies for Windows 365
- Windows 365 deployment overview
- Windows 365 networking deployment options
Windows in the Cloud video series
- Windows in the Cloud video series dives into Windows 365 capabilities
Books
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