We recently discussed what Modern Desktop Enablement is. We touched on the subject of why it is now more important than ever to enable and manage Modern Desktop in your organization, but today, we take a closer look at how this will be influenced by and have an impact on IT spending, remote work environments, and cyber security.
Many enterprises are currently in the process of modernizing their application estates by converting their existing MSI apps and EXE files into MSIX packages. This is done to take advantage of the many benefits that come with MSIX like, for example, increased security as app packages remain current and up-to-date as they are easier to maintain, which leads to a reduction in the cost of ownership per application.
Application compatibility has always been a huge obstacle when it comes to larger IT Transformation projects, such as an enterprise desktop migration. However, if you go by Microsoft's communication, application compatibility is a core tenet of Windows 10 and the software giant is continuing to invest in it. In fact, in a recent article, Microsoft claimed that it is simply a perceived problem as their App Assure team has tested hundreds of thousands of applications and 99.6% are compatible.
Microsoft is thrilled to announce that this promise of application compatibility will extend to Windows 11 with App Assure and Test Base, a new Azure-based service, to help those enterprise-size customers who require assistance. However, it isn't all puppies and rainbows. There are very specific conditions that you will have to meet in order to take advantage of these services. Today, I want to walk you through them and explain what else you should know when it comes to app compatibility for your Windows 11 and Microsoft 365 migration.
If you asked someone 10 years ago to name the most important requirements for a Modern Desktop experience, the answers would most likely have been more RAM, faster processors, and stronger graphic cards. Today, however, although making sure your PC has enough computing power to handle all of your tasks without lagging is still important, the ubiquitousness of as-a-Service applications and cloud proliferation has significantly changed what constitutes a Modern Desktop.
As successful Modern Desktop Enablement and Management are becoming crucial to the operation of almost all businesses, the question is this: How do you ensure that yours is set up and running at optimal performance? What are the things you should measure and benchmark against to ensure the best possible end-user experience? Today, we will have a closer look at the most relevant Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that any organization enabling Modern Desktops should measure.
Little did Microsoft know how much the world would need to rely on something they, in 2015, coined the "Modern Desktop" to describe a Microsoft 365, Windows 10, and Office 365 ProPlus based desktop. Its purpose is to let employees work from anywhere productively as they collaborate with their teammates while always staying up-to-date, secure, and compliant.
Today, I want to have a closer look at what we mean by Modern Desktop Enablement and why it is so crucial for any organization right now.
Internet Explorer, the web browser you either love or hate or both, is being retired by Microsoft (and relatively quickly at that) in favor of Edge, the Chromium-based browser. While most consumers won't feel any discomfort from this, the impact on businesses ranges from security threats to LOB web applications and critical shortcuts not working. This is yet another major IT initiative organizations have to contend with, just like hardware refreshes and migrating to/updating versions of Windows 10, Office/Microsoft 365, etc., not to mention Microsoft's other recent major announcements of Windows 11 and Cloud PC.
We all know that automating the often tedious, lengthy, and expensive user acceptance testing (UAT) is going to result in a much faster process — but how much acceleration can you realistically expect? Today, I want to answer that question by walking you through the real-world results we achieved with a very large international investment bank.
First, I want to walk you through the actual processes that were being used (both the manual and the automated) and show step-by-step how long each process took manually and how much time the large investment bank saved by switching over to automated processes. Then, let's have a look at the impact this change would have if you either package 500 applications at once or 20 applications per week, every week.
Ever since the introduction of Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD), also formerly known as Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD), we often get asked what the main differences between this solution and Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) are.
While a variety of vendors have implementations of Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), we are going to compare Microsoft’s VDI solution (Azure Virtual Desktop) to Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops (CVAD) as this is what people commonly refer to when they say VDI.
Windows Virtual Desktop, which was first announced back in September of 2018 and was GA in September of 2019, was introduced to provide a virtual desktop/app experience using cloud technology. This service enables users to login to a virtual machine from anywhere and have a desktop experience that would feel the same to them as if they were sitting in the office. Enterprises offering Windows Virtual Desktop services would realize savings in licensing, software, and hardware costs.
Most people know that Microsoft had announced that Windows 10 was going to be the last Windows ever released, but what most don't know is that even Windows 10 has had an End-of-Life date from the very beginning. As it says on Microsoft's Windows 10 Enterprise and Education Modern Lifecycle page, "Microsoft will continue to support at least one release of Windows 10 Semi-Annual Channel until October 14, 2025. The below table reflects the released versions to date."