Comparing AWS WorkSpaces vs. Azure Virtual Desktop

Azure Virtual Desktop

Azure Virtual Desktop allows organizations to deploy Windows 10 or Windows 11 desktops in the cloud. Organizations can deploy these desktops in the region of their choice but they are globally available regardless of the selected region. With Azure Virtual Desktops, Microsoft fully manages the underlying control plane, ensuring resilience and reliability.

Azure Virtual Desktop pricing and TCO

Determining the total cost for Azure Virtual Desktop can be challenging. Pricing can vary widely depending on the region, the session type, the workload type and other factors. Even the number of hours during which the virtual desktops are powered on each day can affect the overall cost. The best option for determining the TCO for Azure Virtual Desktops is to use Microsoft's pricing calculator.

Although the cost can be relatively high, Microsoft offers several licensing options that can help bring down the price. One option is to use the Bring Your Own License program for Windows 10, Windows 11 or Windows Server. To do so, you will need to meet certain license eligibility requirements.

Another cost-reducing option is the Azure Savings Plan for Compute, which involves committing to spending a certain amount of money each month in exchange for a reduced rate. You can also get a discount by purchasing a reservation, which requires either a one- or three-year commitment.

Key features of Azure Virtual Desktop

Azure Virtual Desktop contains all the basic features that an organization might need to manage its virtual desktops. For example, the platform allows you to create host pools for managing deployments at scale and the ability to create custom deployment templates.

One of the more interesting capabilities found within Azure Virtual Desktop is its support for multiple sessions. When you create a collection of virtual desktops, you can designate those virtual desktops as being either single-session or multi-session.

The reason why an organization might opt to create multi-session virtual desktops is that Microsoft bills its customers based on the number of virtual desktops they create, the virtual desktop size and the number of hours that the virtual desktop is powered on. This means that in most cases, though there are exceptions, the more virtual desktops an organization creates, the higher its monthly cost. Multi-session virtual desktops allow multiple users to simultaneously share a virtual desktop, thereby reducing the total number of virtual desktops that are needed and potentially reducing the total cost.

AWS WorkSpaces

Like Azure Virtual Desktop, AWS WorkSpaces is a platform for hosting virtual desktops in the cloud. While Azure Virtual Desktops only supports the creation of Windows desktops, Amazon also supports the use of Ubuntu Linux desktops.

AWS WorkSpaces pricing and TCO

Amazon provides two basic cost models for its virtual desktops. Organizations can choose to be billed based on the number of hours that a virtual desktop is in use, or Amazon offers a flat rate per desktop monthly billing. Hourly billing ideally suits situations with light virtual desktop usage. Alternatively, flat rate billing is better suited for situations in which users are spending most of their time working from the virtual desktop.

As is the case with Microsoft, the actual virtual desktop cost can vary based on several factors, such as the region and the virtual desktop size. The cost also varies depending on the OS that you choose to install on the virtual desktops. Like Microsoft, Amazon offers a Bring Your Own License option for Windows virtual desktops.

Key features of AWS WorkSpaces

Although Amazon WorkSpaces is at the heart of Amazon's virtual desktop solution, Amazon offers three other services to enhance the virtual desktop experience. The first of these services is the Amazon WorkSpaces Thin Client, which is a dedicated client that can access virtual desktops. Amazon also offers Amazon WorkSpaces Core, which is essentially a collection of APIs intended for use with third-party VDI platforms. Finally, Amazon offers the Amazon WorkSpaces Secure Browser, a hardened web browser designed to access internal services and web apps from a virtual desktop.

As previously noted, Amazon provides both Linux and Windows images. Linux images include a common set of apps such as LibreOffice and the Firefox browser. It's possible to subscribe to Microsoft Office through AWS on a Windows image, but there is an extra cost.

In addition, Amazon supports the use of custom images. To create a custom deployment image, an administrator needs only to create a virtual desktop and then configure it according to their needs. This means customizing the various OS settings and installing any required applications. Once that's complete, the administrator can create an image from the virtual desktop and then use that to deploy customized virtual desktops on an as-needed basis.

Choosing between AWS WorkSpaces and Azure Virtual Desktop

Comparing AWS WorkSpaces vs. Azure Virtual Desktops and choosing which is the best option can be difficult. After all, both are stable and mature platforms that work equally well. But there are key factors to consider when choosing one platform over the other.

Cost

Determining the total cost of running a collection of virtual desktops within the cloud involves a lot of variables. Luckily, both Amazon and Microsoft provide cost calculators that can help decision-makers get a better feel for the overall cost.

Which platform costs the least ultimately comes down to the choice of OS, the number of planned virtual desktops, the hardware allocated to them and other similar factors.

Neither platform is going to be the least expensive in every situation. Which platform costs the least ultimately comes down to the choice of OS, the number of planned virtual desktops, the hardware allocated to them and other similar factors.

Some organizations consider billing predictability to be more important than a low base price. In such cases, AWS WorkSpaces may be the preferred option since Microsoft does not offer flat-rate billing. Microsoft does, however, offer various options that can help drive down costs, such as reservations or the Azure Savings Plan for Compute. It's also worth noting that multi-session virtual desktops seem to be unique to Microsoft.

OS and application support

Azure Virtual Desktop focuses on Windows desktops, and admins can create virtual desktops that run Windows 10, Windows 11 or Windows Server. Amazon supports the use of Windows desktop OSes, Windows Server and Linux desktops.

Additional factors to consider

While more practical and immediate factors like cost or OS support are critical, don't underestimate the value of familiarity. If, for example, you use Azure every day but have comparatively little experience with AWS, then Azure might end up being the better choice, even if the cost of AWS is lower. While both platforms are at least somewhat intuitive and comprehensive documentation is readily available, a lot can be said for familiarity.

It's also important to think about the data that users will be accessing and where that data resides. If the bulk of your user data is stored in Amazon S3, then it might be prudent to create your virtual desktops in AWS in an effort to avoid any data egress fees when users attempt to access data from a competing cloud.

Brien Posey is a 22-time Microsoft MVP and a commercial astronaut candidate. In his over 30 years in IT, he has served as a lead network engineer for the U.S. Department of Defense and as a network administrator for some of the largest insurance companies in America.