Microsoft’s latest cloud computing platform has a number of similarities to an existing system. Windows 365 at first glance appears very similar to Azure Virtual Desktop. But when you breakdown the two systems, a number of differences become evident and you can see that one system may suit some businesses more than the other.
If your organisation has embraced a BYOD policy, either Windows 365 or Azure Virtual Desktop would be a great option for you. But how can you choose between the two? We’ve broken down the main elements so that you can decide for yourself.
What is the difference between Windows 365 and Azure Virtual Desktop?
Below are the main elements of Windows 365 and Azure Virtual Desktop. See how they differ see you can pick what’s best for you.
Operating system
Windows 365 will be available with Windows 10 or Windows 11 upon release. Azure Virtual Desktop supports Windows 10 enterprise multi session, Windows 10 Enterprise, Windows 7 Enterprise, Windows Server 2019, Windows Server 2016 and Windows Server 2012 R2.
Subscriptions
All virtual desktop solutions from Microsoft require an Azure subscription. Windows 365 subscriptions reside fully in Microsoft your subscription, and are fully managed by Microsoft at a fixed cost. Your virtual desktop is managed entirely by customers, through flexible consumption based pricing.
Compute
Microsoft fully manages Azure compute for Windows 365 for a fixed cost. There is no direct admin access to the underlying virtual machines. in Azure Virtual Desktop the customer manage is the compute with consumption based costs and additional flexibility for configuring the virtual machines. If you want a very custom setup, AVD is the place to go.
Storage
Storage in Windows 365 is fully managed by Microsoft you simply choose the amount of storage you would like as part of your monthly subscription. Azure Virtual Desktop storage is far more flexible and can you can assign a different amount to different users based on their needs.
Networking
This is the biggest difference for Windows 365 enterprise and business subscriptions. Enterprise subscriptions have fully customer managed networking with flexible routing, IPS, and security. Windows 365 business is Philly under Microsoft’s management. Azure Virtual Desktop networking is flexible and has no control from Microsoft.
User profile
Windows 365 is a single user desktop solution run in Azure. As a result there is a single user profile and no need for multi user profile management. Azure Virtual Desktop relies on FSLogicx as a profile container holding user profiles. When a user signs in, FSLogix redirect to the data and settings for that user.
Windows 365 versus Azure Virtual Desktop
| Windows 365 Business | Windows 365 Enterprise | Azure Virtual Desktop Single User | Azure Virtual Desktop Multi-User (pooled) | |
| Control plane | Azure Virtual Desktop | Azure Virtual Desktop | Azure Virtual Desktop | Azure Virtual Desktop |
| Azure Subscription | Microsoft Managed | Microsoft Managed Except Networking | Customer managed | Customer managed |
| Compute | Microsoft Managed Fixed cost No admin access to VMs | Microsoft Managed Fixed cost No admin access to VMs | Customer managed Usage based cost Flexible | Customer managed Usage based cost Flexible |
| Storage | Microsoft Managed Fixed cost Not flexible Difficult to backup | Microsoft Managed Fixed cost Not flexible Difficult to backup | Customer Managed OS Disks FSLogix Flexible Easy to Backup | Customer Managed OS Disks FSLogix Flexible Easy to Backup |
| Networking | Microsoft Managed Fixed cost No admin access No flexibility | Customer managed Usage based cost Flexible routing IPs Security | Customer managed Usage based cost Flexible routing IPs Security | Customer managed Usage based cost Flexible routing IPs Security |
| User Profiles | No FSLogix | No FSLogix | FSLogix Optional | FSLogix Mandatory |
If you’re not sure which is the right Cloud computing solution for you, get in touch with one of our consultants to discuss your specific requirements.
