Windows Virtual Desktop is The Single Most Effective Technology Solution for Remote & Hybrid Workforce in a Post-Pandemic Business World

 

IS ONE (OR ALL) OF THESE YOU?

  • You had to change how your business operated after COVID-19 sent most of your workforce home.
  • Your employees still work from home part of the time.
  • You don’t plan on bringing all your staff back to the office full time.
  • You want to be able to access your files and programs wherever you are.
  • You are unsure about the future business (political or social) environment, so you don’t want to make a large capital investment in your computer infrastructure.
  • You want to be able to grow and shrink your workforce as your business needs change.

If you related to any of the statements above, WVD might be the right solution for your business. Microsoft released WVD to the public in March 2020 (perfect timing for the pandemic) as part of the restructuring of their Microsoft 365 services. It is a revolutionary product that combines several existing product lines in a complete package.

MICROSOFT WINDOWS VIRTUAL DESKTOP (WVD) OFFERS YOUR BUSINESS FLEXIBILITY

These include their legacy Office 365 (now Microsoft 365) suite of office tools, Microsoft Azure cloud services, and a product called FSLogix that glues the two together. For most businesses, using a brand-new, bleeding-edge, revolutionary product can be scary. WVD is a suite of tried and true products used by large & small businesses for many years; it's now packaged in a complete suite that small businesses can use to their advantage in the marketplace.

What WVD is Not

We know that when techies start talking about their new fandangled technology products, most people’s eyes glaze over. Before we get into the juicy details about what WVD is, we want to dispel a few myths you may have heard about WVD.

  • It is not Warp Drive for your starship, although it will accelerate your business past your competitors running on old servers sitting in their dusty closet.
  • It won’t take you on the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs, but it will allow your employees to access their desktop, programs, and files wherever they are, even from a web-browser.
  • It is not the Golden Idol from an archaeological dig; however, IT professionals have been searching for this complete solution for many years.
  • Your data does not exist in a Cloud, miles above the earth. Your data is stored in secure data centers across the country operated by Microsoft.

WVD IS THE RIGHT BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY FOR SMALL BUSINESSES IN 2021

Like many business owners, do you worry about implementing a new technology in your company? Have you ever bought a new software, server, product, or fancy shiny object, only to be disappointed about how it performed in your company? Has the company that was supposed to implement the new technology let you down?

You aren’t alone! Most businesses owners have bought into something new and been disappointed with the results. That is why Stimulus Technologies’ priority is to make sure whatever technology we recommend to our clients is proven by others and we’ve tested it thoroughly within our company before we ever recommend it to our clients. We have helped over 100 businesses, just like yours, transition successfully to Microsoft 365 over the last 5 years. We’ve untied these companies from buying Office licenses for their computers, thrown out their old and outdated onsite Exchange servers, and freed them from difficult Microsoft licensing programs.

By moving to Microsoft Azure, you are joining 95% of all Fortune 500 companies that rely on Azure every day.

You might recognize a few of these names. These companies have moved their data and programs to Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure because it is the best in the world. It allows them to scale, change, and implement new technologies quickly and reliably. It is good company for your business to be in.

What is WVD in non-tech speak?

Microsoft Azure allows you to run servers and computers in a data center, which is built with redundant power, Internet connections and physical security, that is managed by Microsoft. Rather than having to buy new servers and computers, you rent them from Microsoft.Windows Virtual Desktop is a technology that allows your employees to access their desktop that is running in Azure from anywhere they have access to the Internet.

WVD SOLVES THE TECHNOLOGY PROBLEMS YOU ARE FACING TODAY

Flexibility

You can access WVD and Microsoft 365 from pretty much any device from anywhere. Desktop, laptop, tablet, cellular phone, or web browser – access your files, documents, programs, and Windows 10 Desktops, anywhere and anytime.

Security

WVD is built on top of Microsoft Azure. Microsoft won the award from the US Department of Defense for its JEDI Top Secret cloud solution. It is the most secure cloud environment available. We help you implement the security you need to keep your systems safe, which includes multi-factor authentication, user policies, backup, and retention policies.

Scalability

With WVD, you can add new and remove users whenever you want. You can add extra storage, new servers, and deploy new programs quickly without buying more hardware. This allows your company to change as the business environment changes (for the better or worse).When users aren’t logged in and using their systems, their desktops shut down, saving you money.

Performance

The server infrastructure in Azure is modern and scalable. Your data is stored on high-performance solid-state drives. You can assign users to shared, dedicated or high-performance graphic desktops, all depending on their needs.

Reliability

Your data is spread across multiple servers in highly redundant data centers. You no longer have to worry about the power being on at your office, your internet service connection being cut or any other variables that plague computer infrastructure in your office. If you have issues at your primary business location, you can send your employees to work wherever is convenient for them.

Ease of Management

Stimulus Technologies has partnered with Nerdio, a complete management company built around WVD. The tools from Nerdio allow Stimulus to easily manage your WVD infrastructure. You also get one bill for everything – Azure, Microsoft 365 and IT management

WE REMOVE THE MYSTERY FROM THE CLOUD DESKTOP

When it comes to your IT, it might feel like there’s a lot that you don’t know. It’s easy to feel out of the loop when it comes to technology, especially concerning the cloud. And while it might seem like a confusing, ambiguous process, Stimulus Technologies’ service and solutions are user-friendly and custom-tailored to help foster your success. We analyze your business processes and make sure the solution is easy for you, your business’ finances, and your employees.

THE CONSULTING, MIGRATION, & IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS

For a successful migration to Microsoft WVD, various steps need to be taken. If even one element is missing, it could end up being a painful, expensive, and time-consuming process. Stimulus Technologies takes consultative approach, making sure that all the right elements are in place before we help you make the move to the cloud. Your business success is our success.

Putting the Plan Together

Our first priority is to understand your business. We will hold a free consultation to understand what you hope to achieve by moving to WVD. Along with detailing how the migration will work, your dedicated Stimulus technical account manager will offer advice and strategic guidance to help overcome your short- and long-term challenges. We will identify the right solutions and services for your needs, ensuring you hit the ground running once the migration is complete. If WVD isn’t a fit for your organization, we will tell you. We want you to make the best decision for your business.

An Audit of Your IT Infrastructure

Once the general consultation is complete, we’ll take a closer look at your current IT infrastructure. By conducting an in-depth audit, we can gain a greater understanding of what the migration will entail. We use several tools to help us identify your IT processes, current infrastructure and how to migrate it to Azure and WVD. We will prepare an extensive report and executive summary, detailing out the project plan, project costs, and ongoing expenses. We will also compare it again your potential future costs of sticking with your current IT infrastructure so you can make the best decision possible for your business.

The Implementation

Prior to the relocation to Azure with WVD, a final round of testing is conducted. These pre-migration checks help us to know everything is fine with the cloud infrastructure before completing the transition. We want the migration to have little impact on your employees and customers, so a seamless migration is essential. We will transition your data and applications to Microsoft 365 hosted Exchange, SharePoint, Azure servers and WVD in stages. It is a great opportunity to audit your data, security credentials and complete IT environment to make sure it fits your current and future business needs. We will work with your staff to ensure the right data is moved over and the right people have access to it. We will also work with your line-of-business application vendors to ensure that the software you use works correctly in WVD once you go live.

Making the Most of Your Environment

Our goal is to help your people to use the new IT infrastructure to its full capability.We will assist your entire staff to make sure they have access to everything they need, patiently answer all their questions, and provide training on the new system.

Dedicated Support Team

After your transition, you and your employees will have direct access to your dedicated support team through Stimulus’ Lightning Support. We have a US based Help Desk team to triage any issues and requests and resolve small and simple issues while one the phone, through chat or SMS texting or through email communication. If the problem needs escalation, you will have an assigned support team that consists of a System Technician, a System Administrator, and a System Engineer. This team will get to know you and your business. They work together to solve technical issues and employee requests to ensure that your technical environment is working seamlessly to help you achieve business success.

Are You Ready to Make Your Business Flexible & Prepared for Anything?

Schedule a quick 10-minute call with one of our technology consultants and find out how Microsoft WVD and Stimulus Technologies can help you and your business succeed in a post-pandemic business world.