Microsoft is improving the Windows Virtual Desktop experience to make it easier for system admins to get started with the service.
First announced in September 2019, Windows Virtual Desktop has run under the radar somewhat, however, a new “spring update” means that Microsoft’s plan to turn Windows Virtual Desktop into a proper Azure service now looks like a reality.
Windows Virtual Desktop allows users to run a virtual machine powered by Windows 7 or 10 operating system, Microsoft 365 application apart from other third-party applications remote using Azure datacenters.
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Windows Virtual Desktop update
The coronavirus lockdown has seen a major increase in usage of Windows Virtual Desktop as more professionals forced to work remotely over the last three months.
“The world has changed dramatically in the past few months. Due to the global health crisis, many people are working remotely for the first time,” Microsoft said in an official blog post.
“We’ve been humbled by the number of you who have used Windows Virtual Desktop to meet the needs of your increasingly distributed and remote workforce."
The update brings a number of new features, including improved management and deployment tools, enhancements in security and compliance, boosted Microsoft Teams user experience, and expanded support for cross-platform operating systems.
Despite its origins on Azure, Windows Virtual Desktop was not initially an Azure service, but with this update all Windows Virtual Desktop objects will become resources within Azure Resource Manager (ARM), making them available across various Azure cloud-based services. After this update, Windows Virtual Desktop will not only be improved but its deployment through the Azure portal will be possible.
A slew of security updates coming to Windows Virtual Desktop also include the ability to add groups of users to Windows Virtual Desktop using Azure Active Directory, mandatory multi-factor authentication, support for static or dynamic conditional access policies, ability to choose the geography you want to store your service metadata and more.
Microsoft also aims to improve the video calling experience using Microsoft Teams on the Windows Virtual Desktop. The company plans to use A/V redirection for video calling which will reduce the latency and thus improve the audio and video experience as a whole.
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Via: TechCrunch
