Update 3.9: Windows Virtual Desktop in Workspace 365

The adaptive workspace just became a little more adaptive! We are proud to announce that with update 3.9, we’re making it possible to easily open Windows Virtual Desktop (applications), straight from your workspace! Curious? Keep on reading to find out more!

In update 3.7, we introduced the Workspace 365 Local App Launcher. With this, you already could open Windows Virtual Desktop (applications) from Workspace 365. However, it did require a setup of the Local App Launcher on every device. This update, we are pleased to announce that we have introduced a new, and most importantly, easier way to open Windows Virtual Desktop apps from your workspace with one click, no setup needed. Moreover, based on who’s logged into the workspace, Windows Virtual Desktop will automatically be checked for permissions for that person.

What is Windows Virtual Desktop?

Let’s start at the beginning: what exactly is Windows Virtual Desktop, and why would you use it?

Windows Virtual Desktop by Microsoft offers application- and desktop virtualisation. This means that you can open applications that are not locally installed on your device. It is similar to a Remote Desktop service, however it does not require your company to have and maintain any servers yourself. Windows Virtual Desktop runs in the cloud, in Azure. This allows you to offer applications and complete environments to people, that fully support all Office 365 products – which could be a challenge with some Remote Desktop services. It is also more scalable and significantly reduces management effort for admins, as they are not responsible anymore for, for example, hosting, updates and maintenance.

Why we integrate Windows Virtual Desktop in Workspace 365

Workspace 365 unites all your applications, information, documents and more. Wherever they are. We aim to offer everyone a simplified an consistent experience, no matter what technology lies below the surface. The same goes for Windows Virtual Desktop.

We see many organisations (thinking of) moving from their traditional Remote Desktop/Citrix to Windows Virtual Desktop, because of, for example, the alleviation of admins regarding the management effort, the familiar Windows 10 experience, to work with Office 365 more easily and/or to save costs. If you still need applications that are not available in the cloud and you don’t want to install them locally, Windows Virtual Desktop can be an excellent way to offer these apps to people. We want to offer them an even more simplified way to work with these applications, by uniting them with everything else they need to work and making them available with one click on both Android and iOS devices without any installations.

The Windows Virtual Desktop experience in the adaptive workspace

So how does WVD work in the adaptive workspace? It’s simple. Admins can make the Windows Virtual Desktop (applications) available to people based on permissions. When a person has access to WVD, they can add it to their workspace – if the admin did not add it already – click on it, and open it from their workspace. Yes: it is really that easy.

What else is new?

The features above are the highlights of this update. But there’s more, such as:

• Easier use of the item picker in the Document App when moving and copying files
• We now allow non-UPN usernames for integration credentials linked to file servers
• The online editors now support locks for file server documents

Are you curious about all new features, fixes and improvements of this update? Check out the announcements.

Open the announcements

View these new features in your Workspace 365 environment. Don’t have your own Workspace 365 environment or didn’t receive the update yet? Then try our free demo. Do you want to receive release notifications? Go to the Support Portal to set this up.

Ps. Don’t see the update yet? Then you’ll receive it shortly from your IT service provider.