VDI can offer many benefits, but as with any new technology, a business should perform a careful cost-benefit analysis before deployment.

Virtual desktops provide unique flexibility for users, shed many of the configuration and management issues associated with endpoint PCs, and offer recurring cost models. But virtual desktops also pose new challenges, especially if an organization deploys Windows Cloud Desktop without reviewing the appropriate use cases.

1. FlexibilityThe primary benefit of virtual desktops is endpoint flexibility. The virtual desktop exists as a file running on a remote server. Users can access that file from a wide array of endpoint devices, using a network to connect the server to the endpoint client device. For example, a user can log on from a desktop at work, from a laptop at home, from a tablet at a client's office and so on. Even though IT can deploy many devices, the VM -- the virtual desktop file -- remains the same in order to provide the same UX.
There are typically several different types of virtual desktop images available, but the number of desktop images is extremely limited. VDI enables businesses to create and manage their own desktop images, so the business can create desktops with application sets tailored for certain user types, such as finance, HR, development and more.
2. Resource savingsSince the server handles all of the processing for a virtual desktop, Azure Virtual Desktop endpoints are little more than I/O devices and can function with far less compute capability than the desktop OS and applications might otherwise require. When it comes to VDI, it's the server -- not the endpoint -- that actually performs the work on a virtual desktop.

3. Simplified management and troubleshootingWhere PCs are often tailored and personalized to suit the tastes and preferences of individual users, virtual desktops benefit from uniformity. This uniformity enables the same virtual desktop file to be replicated ad infinitum to support any number of users.

By employing the same OS, application set and configuration, virtual desktops become fast and simple to learn and troubleshoot. In addition, virtual desktops are generally not persistent and typically do not support personalization, although an organization can implement some limited personalization if it needs to.

4. ScalabilityUltimately, the choice of virtual desktops is not an all-or-nothing proposition. Virtual desktops can coexist just fine with traditional local desktop computers. This means that businesses can test virtual desktop technologies and services to find a platform and pricing model that best fits their needs.
Once selected, organizations can adopt virtual desktops as quickly -- or slowly -- as they see fit, enabling current traditional desktops to reach the end of their normal lifecycle before making a decision to implement virtual desktops and other client hardware.
When IT pairs hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) with VDI, the ease of scalability further increases. HCI systems enable IT to add storage and capacity in conjunction with compute capacity, reducing the risk of I/O bottlenecks.

5. Same image utilization The real power of a virtual desktop is in its standardization. For example, IT can duplicate and proliferate a single desktop image file -- a VM with an OS and applications -- to dozens, hundreds or even thousands of users, with every class or type of user employing the same desktop image. There may be several different desktop images to choose from, reflecting different classes or types of users, but every user does not get a unique image tailored just for them.

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