A Windows desktop that lives in Azure's Singapore data centres and opens on any laptop, tablet or thin client. Brilliant in the right situation, expensive in the wrong one. Here's how to tell which you're in.
Instead of running Windows and your business applications on each laptop, you run them on virtual machines (called session hosts) in Azure. Staff connect through the Windows App or a browser and see a normal Windows desktop, or just individual apps, while everything actually runs and stays in the data centre.
Two features make AVD distinctive:
Because Azure's Southeast Asia region is in Singapore, your desktops can run a few milliseconds from your office, which keeps the experience responsive.
| Situation | Why AVD helps |
|---|---|
| Contractors and offshore teams | Give access to company apps without shipping laptops or letting data onto personal devices |
| Legacy or desktop-only apps | Run old accounting, ERP or industry software centrally instead of installing it everywhere |
| Sensitive data | Files never leave Azure; users see pixels, not copies. Useful for client confidentiality and PDPA risk |
| Seasonal or shift workers | Spin desktops up for peak periods and pay only while they run |
| Heavy workloads | Give designers or analysts powerful (even GPU) machines without buying workstations |
| Business continuity | If the office or a laptop is unavailable, staff can work from any device |
AVD is usually not worth it if your team already works happily in Microsoft 365 web and desktop apps on company laptops. Virtual desktops add a layer to manage; they need a reason to exist.
According to Microsoft's Azure Virtual Desktop pricing page, users with Microsoft 365 E3, E5, A3, A5, F3, Business Premium, or Windows Enterprise and VDA per-user licences are entitled to access Windows 11 and Windows 10 desktops on AVD at no extra licensing cost. A separate per-user access price exists only for external users, such as customers using an app you deliver through AVD.
If your team is on Business Basic or Standard, you'd need to add an eligible licence. That's one more reason Business Premium often makes sense; see our Microsoft 365 plan comparison.
With licensing covered, AVD cost is Azure consumption. The big levers:
We go deeper on all of these in Azure pricing explained and how to stop your Azure bill climbing.
| Azure Virtual Desktop | Windows 365 | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Pay-as-you-go Azure consumption | Fixed monthly price per user |
| Users per machine | One or many (multi-session) | One dedicated Cloud PC per user |
| Management effort | Higher: images, scaling, profiles | Low: managed like a laptop in Intune |
| Flexibility | High: GPUs, app streaming, custom networking | Standard configurations |
| Best for | Larger or variable user counts, legacy apps, cost optimisation at scale | Small teams, predictable budgets, simplicity |
If you'd rather not run the platform yourselves, our Azure managed services cover monitoring, patching, backup and cost optimisation for a flat monthly fee.
Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) is Microsoft's service for running Windows desktops and applications on virtual machines in Azure, which users access securely from almost any device. It supports Windows 11 Enterprise multi-session, which lets several users share one virtual machine to reduce cost.
Users licensed with Microsoft 365 Business Premium, E3, E5, F3 and certain Windows Enterprise or VDA licences are already entitled to access Windows desktops on Azure Virtual Desktop. You still pay for the Azure infrastructure underneath: virtual machines, storage and networking.
The main cost is Azure consumption: the virtual machines that run the desktops, the storage for user profiles and the network. Costs depend on how many users share each machine, how powerful the machines are, and how many hours a day they run. Autoscaling machines down outside working hours and using reserved instances are the two biggest savings levers.
Windows 365 gives each user a dedicated Cloud PC for a fixed monthly price per user, with very little to manage. Azure Virtual Desktop is pay-as-you-go, supports multiple users per virtual machine and offers far more control, but needs more design and management. Windows 365 suits predictable, simple needs; AVD suits larger, variable or specialised workloads.
Yes. Azure's Southeast Asia region is located in Singapore, so session hosts and user data can run locally, which keeps latency low for Singapore-based staff and helps with data location requirements.
Book a free consultation. We'll look at your users and applications and tell you whether Azure Virtual Desktop, Windows 365 or neither is the right fit.
