Microsoft is getting ready to release the Windows Virtual Desktop—or WVD for short—to the general public, as the service has become “feature complete,” according to its group manager Scott Manchester.
We are feature complete with #WVD and will be moving to the final phase for GA. Spin up your VMs and start testing your scenarios. Got issues? Engage our community: https://t.co/2amQHtQqwI #WVD #Azure #Microsoft
— Scott Manchester (@RDS4U) August 13, 2019
The service has been in public preview since March, and allows testers to virtualize Windows 7 and 10, Office 365 ProPlus, and other apps and software from within their Azure virtual machines. Additionally, it will also support multiple sessions of Windows 10 as well as Windows Server RDS desktop and its apps.
Microsoft still has yet to provide the availability date and pricing details, but users will need an current Azure subscription and to set up a virtual machine with the amount of storage they need. ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley suggests that the release could happen by the end of September 2019 as per information from her contacts.
On an interesting note, users of the WVD are also expected to be able to virtualize Windows 7 desktops as well. The company will continue to provide security updates for Windows 7 after its discontinuation in January of 2020, thanks to free Extended Security Update support all the way through January 2023.
Is the WVD something you or your company can benefit from? Feel free to share what you think in the comment area below.
