⚙ Build in progress — some links may break, some copy may shift. We'd appreciate the heads-up: [email protected]
version 26.5.1 · Western Australia · Est. 2011·Microsoft Partner & Reseller · HP, Yealink, Ubiquiti, Kyocera
— Cloud workspace · FAQs

Azure Virtual Desktop — your questions, answered.

The common questions clients ask before, during, and after deployment. No marketing fluff; the answers we'd give on a scoping call.

Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD, formerly WVD) replaces traditional remote-desktop and most VPN-based remote access. Orchestrated by Nerdio Manager Enterprise so the Azure bill is predictable, scoped by role with Published Apps so each user gets only what they need, and identity-protected by Conditional Access so the perimeter is who you are, not where you are. The questions below cover what AVD is good for, what it costs, and when it's the right tool. Heavier workloads like CAD work fine on the right VM SKU — we'll spec it during the design call.

Can AVD replace our VPN?
In most cases, yes — and you should. VPN puts a remote user inside your network. AVD puts them on a managed desktop or in role-scoped apps, with identity as the perimeter. Modern threat reporting consistently puts VPN at the start of domain-wide compromise; AVD removes that surface.
How does the Azure cost actually work?
Per-VM compute metered hourly, scaled by Nerdio to actual demand — pool grows at 8am, shrinks at 6pm, sleeps weekends. AVD use rights are included in M365 Business Premium / E3 / E5. Most pooled-desktop clients run $55–$90 per user per month effective.
Can it handle CAD, BIM, video editing?
Yes — on the right VM SKU. NV-series VMs with NVIDIA GPU run AutoCAD, Revit, ArcGIS, Adobe Premiere. Specialised workloads use personal-desktop assignment (one user per VM) rather than pooled multi-session.
What's the user experience like?
Indistinguishable from a local Windows desktop for most tasks. Office apps, browser, line-of-business apps, file shares — all there, fast, on any device with a browser or the Windows App client. Drag-and-drop, copy-paste, printing all work.
How long does a deployment take?
Scoping: 1-2 weeks. Design + image build: 2-3 weeks. Pilot with key users: 2 weeks. Full cutover: weekend. Total: roughly 6-8 weeks from sign-off to all-users-on for a typical mid-market environment.
What happens if Azure is down?
AVD is multi-region; failover host pools can sit in a different Australian region. M365 itself doesn't depend on AVD. The realistic BCDR concern isn't AVD failure — it's having a runbook for the rare Microsoft outage that takes everything down together.

Explore the full Azure Virtual Desktop page, or jump to another product's FAQs.

Each product line has its own detail page with pricing and the architecture overview, plus a dedicated FAQ. Same brand voice, same operating cadence across all of them.

Question we didn't answer?
Email whedo.it.

If you've got a Azure Virtual Desktop-specific question that isn't covered above, send a note. Replies typically within the hour, business hours, Perth time. No pitch attached.

5.0
★★★★★ on Google · loading…
Read all on Google →