One of the biggest announcements to come from Ignite 2018 is the Windows Virtual Desktop feature that allows users to run Windows 7 and Window 10, along with Office apps, straight from the cloud.
Microsoft announced it at that conferencing, promising availability without about a year from then.
Well, here we are.
Though there have not be any substantial news on the WVD lately, we now have intelligence that the software titan is gearing up for launch. The feature is feature complete, and will be generally available for everyone soon.
Just in time for the Windows 7 retirement, one imagines.
Scott Manchester, the Group Manager for WVD and RDS over at Microsoft, announced that the service is finally feature complete, after being in public preview since March. That is to say, the company will soon be making Windows Virtual Desktop generally available.
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
And While Manchester did give an estimate release window, good old Mary Jo Foley stepped in, with her sources suggesting that a September release time frame is on the cards. Ties nicely to the one-year window that Redmond alluded to when it first revealed the service in September of last year.
All said and done, this can prove to be a unique solution for organizations that are planning to use Windows 7 beyond its support deadline of January 2020.
Interestingly, Microsoft will be providing free security updates for Windows 7 machines running on WVD until January 2023, which should get these users a good three years to get ready for the future, and migrate to a newer version of the OS.
That said, though we do already know that an Azure subscription will be required for using the Windows Virtual Desktop service, the pricing itself for WVD is not yet known.
Perhaps closer to launch, we shall.
