Windows Virtual Desktop has been rebranded to Azure Virtual Desktop and the new name also comes with additional functionality. This rebranding uses the existing underlying infrastructure to extend the Virtual Desktop ecosystem beyond a traditional virtual desktop experience. Supporting remote workloads both internally, and now externally, while simplifying the deployment and management at the same time – is the core of Azure Virtual Desktop.
 

New Features

A pain point for many customers is being required to join their session hosts to a domain. If you already have a domain footprint with a site-to-site connection between your local on-prem environment and Azure, this would be no problem. But many organizations have been looking for a truly cloud based solution. This scenario required organizations to either stand up a fresh domain in Azure or deploy Azure AD Domain Services in order to complete the domain join requirement of deploying a session host. This will no longer be a requirement as WVD now has enhanced support for Azure Active Directory.



This will allow you to join the WVD session host VMs directly to Azure Active Directory. With this also comes the ability to manage your session hosts with Endpoint Manager. You will be able to enroll the Windows 10 Multi-Session OS in Endpoint Manager to streamline deployment of policies and Applications. Check out this Microsoft blog for details on virtualization for the hybrid workplace.
 

**Update**

You will now also be able to deploy remote workloads (apps and desktops) to your customers and external business partners by using Remote App Streaming. This shift allows Azure Virtual Desktop subscribers to pay a monthly per-user price to publish their AVD applications as “SaaS” applications that can be used by external business partners using Guest accounts! This will allow organizations to deploy applications to the global market without the need to support internal employees.
 

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