{"id":1213,"date":"2019-09-30T09:00:38","date_gmt":"2019-09-30T16:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-za\/2019\/09\/30\/windows-virtual-desktop-generally-available-worldwide\/"},"modified":"2022-06-28T10:51:33","modified_gmt":"2022-06-28T17:51:33","slug":"windows-virtual-desktop-generally-available-worldwide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-za\/microsoft-365\/blog\/2019\/09\/30\/windows-virtual-desktop-generally-available-worldwide\/","title":{"rendered":"Windows Virtual Desktop is now generally available worldwide"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today, we\u2019re excited to announce that Windows Virtual Desktop is now generally available worldwide. Windows Virtual Desktop is the only service that delivers simplified management, a multi-session Windows 10 experience, optimizations for Office 365 ProPlus<\/a>, and support for Windows Server Remote Desktop Services (RDS) desktops and apps. With Windows Virtual Desktop, you can deploy and scale your Windows desktops and apps on Azure in minutes.<\/p>\n

Since we announced Windows Virtual Desktop last September<\/a>, and through the public preview announced in March<\/a>, thousands of customers have piloted the service and taken advantage of the Windows 10 multi-session capability\u2014validating the importance of this feature as a core part of the service. Customers also represented, all major industries and geographies, helping us get feedback from different customer types and locations. As a result, as of today the service is now available in all geographies. In addition, the Windows Virtual Desktop client is available across Windows, Android, Mac, iOS, and HTML 5.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWindows Virtual Desktop allows our employees to work in a secure manner wherever they are. Windows Virtual Desktop provides the Windows 10 desktop experience that our employees are familiar with across a variety of devices or web browsers.\u201d
\n\u2014Jake Hovermale, Chief Technical Officer, BEI Networks<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

With the end of extended support for Windows 7 coming in January 2020<\/a>, we also understand some customers need to continue to support Windows 7 legacy applications as they migrate to Windows 10. To support this need, you can use Windows Virtual Desktop to virtualize Windows 7 desktops\u00a0with free Extended Security Updates (ESU) until January 2023<\/a>. If you\u2019re in the process of migrating to Windows 10 and need app compatibility assistance, read more about how we can help with the Desktop App Assure program<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To help increase productivity, we invested heavily in the Office experience in a virtualized environment with native improvements, as well as through the acquisition of FSLogix<\/a>. In July, we made the FSLogix technology<\/a> available to Microsoft 365, Windows 10 Enterprise, and RDS customers. Today, all FSLogix tools<\/a> are fully integrated into Windows Virtual Desktop, enabling you to have the smoothest, most performant Office virtualization experience available today.<\/p>\n

In addition to the significant architectural improvements for deployment and management, we\u2019re also simplifying app delivery by supporting MSIX packaged apps to be dynamically \u201cattached\u201d to a virtual machine instead of installing it permanently. This is important because it significantly decreases storage and makes it easier for the admin to manage and update the apps, while creating a seamless experience for the user.<\/p>\n

Check out the new video from Scott Manchester, Principal Engineering Lead for Windows Virtual Desktop, where he does a great job of walking you through the app \u201cattach\u201d experience.<\/p>\n

Extending Windows Virtual Desktop<\/h3>\n

We also worked closely with our partner ecosystem to help our customers extend Windows Virtual Desktop and get the most out of existing virtualization investments.<\/p>\n