The changing work landscape, resulting from the pandemic, means facilitating remote working is a key consideration for organisations that want to maintain business continuity with a seamless experience for their employees. A cloud-based solution such as Azure Virtual Desktop makes this possible.
But what exactly is Azure Virtual Desktop? How does it support remote working? And why should your business use it?
The new virtual working world
Remote working had always been on an uphill trajectory, but since 2020 and the beginning of the global pandemic, that growth has exploded to a point where, at its peak, nearly half of all employees were working remotely, full-time.
Many organisations continue to embrace the benefits of a remote workforce or at least a hybrid version, but the desire to reduce overheads cannot come at the cost of the business output. With that in mind, there is a great need to ensure your business is choosing the right solution to meet your team’s virtual working needs.
In a previous article, we focused on how hybrid and remote workers could increase productivity with AVD. In this article, we’ll examine the vast range of benefits realised when using AVD for your business.
What is Azure Virtual Desktop?
Azure Virtual Desktop is Microsoft’s Desktop-as-a-Service solution that runs on the cloud. It allows employees to securely access any applications, files or data that they require to do their work from any device and any location.
It is a cost-effective way for organizations to enjoy the same secure, high-performance desktop experience, without the need for physical on-site infrastructure.
Creating a full desktop virtualisation environment that is accessible anywhere enables your business to have greater flexibility and scalability.
The benefits of Azure Virtual Desktop
Businesses using Azure Virtual Desktop are immediately giving themselves a competitive advantage and here are just some of the reasons why:
User Experience
Remote teams and individuals have the same experience using Azure Virtual Desktop as they would if working on-site through a physical desktop. This ensures their jobs are not impacted in any way and business processes can continue as normal.
Azure Virtual Desktop Reliability
Azure Virtual Desktop is built on the Azure platform, which delivers 99.9% uptime, virtually eliminating the risk of any costs associated with system downtime.
Business Continuity
Similarly to the above, when businesses can access their main resources from anywhere, it greatly reduces the potential for any downtime. Employees will be able to make sales, complete tasks and keep the business running, regardless of any circumstance that limits their on-site access.
Scalability
Virtual desktops can scale up or down as demand dictates. Therefore your business is not wasting money on resources that are not required, but has the option to ramp up functionality should the need arise.
Security
Data stored on the Azure cloud is protected by industry-leading cyber security and Azure data centres have two-tier authentication, proxy card access readers, hand geometry biometric readers, a global incident response team and more, reducing the risk to your business.
Storage and Compliance
AVD takes away the headache of data protection. Data is stored on the Azure cloud in compliance with all industry regulations including the GDPR. It is entirely built around the security and privacy demands that modern businesses face.
Extensive features
Azure Virtual Desktop has a diverse range of fantastic features that greatly improve productivity
Extensibility
AVD is also part of the overall greater Azure ecosystem of tools and solutions which can be extremely valuable when operating a business and further needs arise.
What makes Azure Virtual Desktop different?
The ease of setup, management and maintenance of AVD makes it stand out from other virtual desktop solutions. At one time, virtual desktops would have been much more complex and difficult to install, particularly for smaller businesses that wouldn’t have the server infrastructure required. Azure Virtual Desktop, however, makes this accessible to all.
AVD has a single user interface where you can manage and configure virtual desktops and applications, assign users and collect diagnostics.
It is cost-effective because you only pay for what you use. And this pay-as-you-go pricing model adds to its flexibility and scalability. Not only that, the ability to give employees full or restricted access to the desktop experience means that you have greater control over who sees what.
Your Azure Virtual Desktop Provider
Calnet IT Solutions is a Microsoft Gold Partner, meaning we have earned the highest level of competency available as part of Microsoft’s widely-recognised partnership program.
As a supplier of Azure Virtual Desktop solutions, we know how much your business can benefit from this technology and we are here to guide you every step of the way.
Contact us today and let Azure Virtual Desktop give your business the boost it deserves in 2022.
