Cloud-First Computing, How Real Are Virtual Desktops?

Forbes

23-04-2025

Windows 11 operating system logo is displayed on a laptop screen for illustration photo. Gliwice, ... More Poland on January 23, 2022. (Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Desktops are diversifying. Long after we all collectively moved off of the traditional desk desktop (i.e the mostly wooden one, where you might still keep your coffee, spectacles and pens these days), we now think of our 'desktop' as the computing space where an operating system allows us to drop folders and files.
But many users are moving towards a more virtualized approach to file and data management; modern operating systems encourage users to rely on online services and cloud service providers encourage an always-on existence. The rise of the cloud desktop is a reality, which means many across the hyperscaler space see it as an inevitable shift which will one day (perhaps soon) become a de facto standard.
Because this growing space needs software management tools that work in a similar way to your traditional IT manager (but from an essentially virtualized delivery point), a growing number of specialists now provide services to help maintain popular platforms. Perhaps the best-known service in this arena is Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop. But what is this technology, how does it work, when should we use it… and who helps support its deployment?
Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop is a cloud service designed to create all the environmental entities and mechanics needed to deliver a virtual desktop and set of virtual applications. The desktop is 'virtual' in the sense because at no stage is the core data, information exchange and processing power located on the user's machine, meaning they can log into the service from potentially any compliant device. Microsoft has built other like-minded technologies in this area such as Windows Server Remote Desktop Services, but RDS is comparatively unmanaged, whereas AVD is a managed multi-tenant service.
Systems administrators set up virtual machine resources to host these services and applications and the rest is history, kind of. It's not quite end of story here because many vendors have offered services that draw on core desktop virtualization principles and it would be remiss not to mention Cisco and VMware here who have both delivered solid (pardon the completely useless term) desktop virtualization services over the years.
Cisco has logically focused more heavily on the backend virtual desktop infrastructure needed to support remote workers with apps that reduce CapEx and skew towards more flexible OpEx spending methods. Correspondingly (without having its own heritage in a 'Windows' or other operating system of its own), VMware has been known for its desktop hypervisor which provides the foundation services needed to run almost all popular desktop operating systems… but this again is an infrastructure play and VMware is better known for its operating system optimization tool than any higher-level directly user-facing technology.
All of which leads us to the question: how do we manage virtual desktop environments today in the cloud-native world of always-on computing?
Among the specialists working in this area is Azure Virtual Desktop management company Nerdio. The organization explains that it is now extending its toolkit, purview and range of competencies that help deploy and manage Microsoft cloud technologies.
Today styling itself as an automated end-user computing management platform, the company is currently at iteration version number 7.0 for Nerdio Manager for Enterprise. This software is said to meet the demand for scalable Windows 365 management with tools for planning, migration, automation and cost optimization i.e. all those things you might have hoped a corporate IT department would do for you, but only one they'd told you to 'turn it off and turn it back on again', right? This release also features deeper integration with Microsoft Intune, which is Redmond's virtualization offering that covers device and application management functions such as device enrollment & management, security & data protection and access control insider corporate environments.
'The shift to cloud-first computing has introduced new challenges for IT leaders, from cost predictability to security and endpoint management,' said Nerdio's CEO, Vadim Vladimirskiy. 'With Nerdio Manager for Enterprise 7.0, we are introducing the most advanced automation and cost optimization capabilities to address these market needs and make Windows 365 and Azure Virtual Desktop management simpler, more efficient and more scalable than ever before.'
The platform release introduces updated pricing and packaging options as we might hopefully expect to find in any enterprise software technology of a reasonable size. More ways to buy - in theory, if not also in practice - generally makes it easier to buy. There is a new pricing model for Windows 365 management that Vladimirskiy says has been built to provide predictable costs and greater flexibility for enterprises managing Windows 365 and Azure Virtual Desktop as a whole.
Engineered to offer many of the inherent efficiencies of cloud computing, Azure Virtual Desktop (AWS, Google Cloud and others also offer tools in this space) means IT departments can manage more than one user from the same virtual desktop infrastructure host.
With a more direct route to scalability than hardware capital expenditure, other efficiencies stem from backend security controls and remote access flexibility. With control often comes complexity and virtual desktop management is complex to set up, complex to keep running when cloud connections are flaky and complex to manage from a resource allocation and performance viewpoint… and these are many of the reasons why specialist vendors exist in the first place to to take control of those elements.
'Windows 365 is designed to give organizations a scalable and secure cloud PC experience,' said Scott Manchester, vice president, Windows 365 and Azure Virtual Desktop at Microsoft. 'With Nerdio Manager for Enterprise 7.0, IT teams now have the automation and optimization tools to accelerate their transition to Windows 365, ensuring efficiency and cost-effectiveness at every stage.'
Nerdio's latest release offers management functions to accelerate planning and migration with modeling, application migration tools and automated workflows that simplify the shift from on-premises infrastructure or existing virtual desktop infrastructure solutions to Windows 365 and Azure Virtual Desktop. Its visibility functions allow IT management to get a view into operational environments with usage dashboards and Intune Insights (Microsoft's abovementioned tool) that surface critical data across endpoints and cloud desktops.
'Windows 365 gives us the flexibility to provide secure, cloud-based desktops to employees, but managing it efficiently at scale was a challenge. With Nerdio Manager for Enterprise 7.0, we now have a centralized, automated approach to managing Windows 365, AVD and Intune. The platform streamlines endpoint security, optimizes costs and simplifies troubleshooting, saving our IT team hours. The new automation and reporting capabilities give us real-time insights, allowing us to proactively manage our cloud environment instead of reacting to issues,' said Brad Ransbury, systems administrator at the City of Corona, California.
We mentioned AWS earlier and the hyperscaler giant has a desktop virtualization offering of some weight (after all, AWS is a cloud-native company, what else would you expect?) in the shape of AWS WorkSpaces. Not wholly dissimilar from Azure Virtual Desktop, AWS WorkSpaces has been engineered to host virtual desktops in the cloud. Stemming from its arguably (inarguably, really) more open source pedigree when compared to Microsoft, AWS Workspace can be used to host Windows desktops, but also host Ubuntu Linux desktops.
So then, when should organizations use virtual desktops and what factors should govern their choice of platform and supporting services?
Google Cloud tells us that a business needs to identify how far it can make use of the core advantages virtual desktops offer for centralized data i.e. because all information resources are stored in one place as opposed to across individual devices, organizations working with particularly mission-critical or life-critical data can protect it against theft or unauthorized access.
'Advanced controls are also available. VDI environments can be more easily secured with measures like encryption, access controls, and regular security updates. User authentication and authorization with Google Workspace, IAP, or Active Directory [is also possible… and] encrypted desktop streaming delivers wherever your employees may be,' notes Google Cloud, on its virtual desktops portal.
It will also obviously come down to cost. Virtual desktop providers across AWS, Google and Microsoft (and as already noted with Nerdio) provide a number of cost models for their services. Typically based on number of hours used, size of virtual desktop estate (in terms of number of users, but also in terms of the geographical region that needs to be served) and the type of license offered, flat rate billing is also offered, so it's often a question of system requirement analysis at the customer end.
According to AWS, the core advantages of embracing a virtual desktop infrastructure include centralized management i.e. admins can patch, update and change multiple virtual desktops at the same time vehicle also perform backups on desktop data for disaster recovery.
'Since all VDI sits on a central system, you can easily scale it up or down. You can make it more flexible by hosting in the cloud. You can use a cloud service provider to deploy and manage thousands of virtual desktops without having to worry about underlying hardware costs. You can access virtual desktop environments from anywhere and on any device. This improves user experience because you can bring your own device to the workplace or gain seamless remote access from any location. VDI creates a highly personalized digital workspace, making it more convenient to work from home or remotely,' notes AWS, on its virtual desktop portal.
Does this kind of progression mean that we (the users) may finally shift to a cloud-first and cloud-only future when we grasp computing resources? The answer is probably yes, somewhat, but in fact not completely.
For as far as any of us can imagine and envisage into the future, there will always be a need for some offline computing, whether it is in air-gapped deployments (not really a good example because they could be running private cloud and hyperscalers like Google Cloud specialize in that kind of thing) or simply up a mountain or in a plane.
But even those environments will merge towards online cloud-first services (some with offline functionality)... and if you're a Chromebook user at any level you will probably agree. The desktop is still shifting, don't forget to pick up your family photos when you leave for good.