Tag Archives: Virtual Desktop

Windows 11 licensing for Virtual Desktops

There’s an updated (November 2022) “Windows 11 licensing for Virtual Desktops” Licensing Brief from Microsoft with two main changes.

Firstly, there’s the inclusion of the Flexible Virtualization Benefit showing the additional options customers can now have for using Windows 11 virtual machines with an Authorized Outsourcer’s shared hardware.

Secondly, the Qualifying Operating System requirements are updated, removing the need for one when a user is licensed with a Microsoft 365 licence. Find this updated guide here: http://bit.ly/3gpVmg7.

Azure Virtual Desktop

Microsoft announce that Windows Virtual Desktop is now Azure Virtual Desktop. There are a whole host of new features in preview, as well as a new licensing option. Historically, users licensed with Microsoft 365 E3/E5/F3/Business Premium or Windows 10 E3/E5 or Windows 10 VDA E3/E5 licenses have rights to the service for virtual desktops and apps. Now, there’s a per user option for external users which is a monthly per user price of $5.50 for apps, or $10 for apps + desktops, with a no-cost promotional period from 14 July, 2021 to 31 December, 2021.

Find the announcement here: https://bit.ly/3v4aa56.

Licensing desktop applications with RDS – Licensing Brief

There’s an updated (April 2020) Licensing Brief detailing how to license the desktop applications with RDS. The main change is to include the October 2019 changes to the licensing terms for Outsourcing Software Management which affect customers choosing to host Office applications on a dedicated server.

Find this updated Licensing Brief here: https://bit.ly/RDSVLBrApr2020

Windows Virtual Desktop on Azure

Microsoft announce Windows Virtual Desktop, which will allow customers to run a full Windows 10 desktop that’s optimised for Office 365 ProPlus, delivered on Azure. Access to Windows Virtual Desktop will be included in the following User SLs: Microsoft 365 E3, E5 or F1, and Windows 10 E3 or E5, with the only additional costs being storage and compute consumption from the virtual machines themselves.

The service will be in preview soon – use this page to stay up to date: http://bit.ly/2zQJD22, and find the original announcement here: http://bit.ly/2xYfHzo.