For businesses still relying on traditional Remote Desktop Services (RDS), the challenges are all too familiar: complexity, high costs, and constant uncertainty about support and innovation. Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) offers a cloud-native solution that simplifies management while delivering a seamless user experience, making it the future-proof alternative.
AVD ensures continuous innovation and robust support. It integrates seamlessly with Microsoft 365 and other cloud services, creating a consistent and reliable experience. Dodge further adds, “AVD provides elasticity in resources, allowing you to only pay for what you use, unlike RDS where you’re constantly managing hardware and patching systems.”
Greg Dodge and James Spignardo explain why RDS no longer meets modern demands—and how AVD with Nerdio enables a smarter, secure upgrade with less effort.
Managing RDS environments can be overwhelming, from constant administrative headaches to security concerns and scalability issues. AVD, on the other hand, allows you to scale effortlessly and optimize costs, while Microsoft handles the infrastructure.
RDS Roadblocks: Why Transitioning to AVD Makes Sense
If you’re still using Remote Desktop Services (RDS), you know the drill—constant troubleshooting, manual updates, and the struggle to scale as your needs grow. Managing RDS often feels like putting out fires, leaving your IT team overwhelmed. As businesses expand and remote work becomes more prevalent, the limitations of RDS become increasingly evident. From frequent performance issues to navigating its lack of flexibility, RDS can hold your organization back from adapting to the modern digital workplace.
Here’s a closer look at the key issues with RDS:
1. Scalability Challenges: RDS struggles to accommodate fluctuating user demands, leading to a mismatch between resources and user needs. This often results in either overuse, where servers are overloaded, or underutilization, where excess capacity leads to wasted resources. As Greg Dodge puts it, “You constantly find yourself either scrambling to meet demand or paying for unused infrastructure.”
2. Security Concerns: Keeping on-premises RDS secure requires constant manual updates, which can create significant vulnerabilities. If any patch or update is missed, the risk of exposure increases, leaving organizations open to potential attacks. “With RDS, you’re responsible for everything—from patching servers to configuring firewalls. This becomes a significant security burden for IT teams,” Dodge explains.
3. Complex Management: RDS requires substantial administrative overhead. From setting up new environments to managing updates, IT teams must invest a great deal of time into keeping systems operational. These manual tasks not only drive-up costs but also increase the likelihood of errors.
If you're dealing with the complexities and admin headaches of RDS, this transition to AVD is really for you.
How AVD Outshines RDS
Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) offers a cloud-native solution to the many pain points associated with RDS. With AVD, you get:
Effortless Scaling: AVD’s elasticity allows you to scale your virtual desktops up or down based on actual demand, ensuring you’re never overcommitted to resources.
Built-in Security: Microsoft handles security updates and patching, reducing your risk of exposure and freeing your IT team to focus on more strategic initiatives. According to Dodge, “AVD shines when it comes to security, with multi-factor authentication, conditional access, and built-in threat protection.”
Cost Optimization: With AVD’s pay-as-you-go model, you only pay for what you use. No more wasting resources on maintaining on-premises hardware or patching systems. “Nerdio optimizes your costs by automatically spinning up and down hosts based on your needs,” Dodge adds.
Simplify AVD Management with Nerdio
While Azure Virtual Desktop can stand strong on its own, tools like Nerdio Manager help businesses make the transition even smoother. Think of Nerdio as the automation layer that makes everything faster and more efficient.
Nerdio Manager’s key benefits include:
- Automating the migration process from Horizon View, Citrix, or RDS.
- Cost optimization through intelligent scaling and deployment automation.
- Streamlined user profile management, making onboarding and day-to-day management easier for IT teams.
However, while Nerdio Manager is a powerful tool, the core value of AVD remains in its cloud-native simplicity and Microsoft’s backing. Nerdio simply makes the process faster and more efficient, but it’s AVD that truly transforms your virtual desktop infrastructure.
What’s Next?
Transitioning from RDS to Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) can feel like a big leap for many organizations. The way to make such a migration is through thoughtful, calculated steps, and one of the best ways to achieve that is through a PoC.
As Greg Dodge, Strategic Solutions Architect at ProArch, emphasized, conducting a PoC is a valuable way to “kick the tires” of AVD with Nerdio without making a major upfront investment. It allows businesses to explore how AVD will fit their needs, identify any challenges, and assess its performance in real-world conditions—before fully committing to a large-scale rollout.
At ProArch, Greg and his team have extensive experience running PoCs for Azure Virtual Desktop with Nerdio, helping organizations “try before they buy.” This practical approach is particularly beneficial for companies transitioning from legacy systems, as it lets them explore the flexibility, security, and scalability of AVD without the pressure of a full deployment.
And if your environment needs additional prep, ProArch can also support the process with Azure Readiness Assessments and Azure Migration Services to ensure a smooth, secure transition to the cloud.
ProArch is a top Microsoft Partner with advanced specialization in Azure, supporting everything from AVD PoCs to full-scale migration and readiness assessments.
Ready to modernize remote access? Let’s talk.
