There are reasons to choose either Azure Virtual Desktop or Citrix DaaS, so organizations should compare these services and deploy one or combine both.
IT administrators can use technologies such as Azure Virtual Desktop or Citrix DaaS to virtualize their business applications and desktops, but deciding which platform to deploy can be a difficult decision.
Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) and Citrix DaaS can do many of the same things, but of course there are distinct features that could sway organizations between one or the other, or even toward using both.
Before comparing these two virtualization platforms, it's important to point out that Citrix and Microsoft aren't competitors in the usual sense. They do provide similar offerings, but Citrix is a Microsoft partner for AVD and uses Microsoft Azure for its Citrix Cloud platform.
What is Azure Virtual Desktop?
Azure Virtual Desktop is Microsoft's desktop and application streaming service. It's entirely built on Azure, and the back end is provided as a service by Microsoft. Because AVD runs on Azure, there is no way to run it on a different cloud vendor or an internal data center -- except for Azure Stack.
In many ways, AVD is like the modern Azure cloud version of what used to be Remote Desktop Protocol and terminal server. Management of AVD is done completely within the Azure platform and resource manager.
What is Citrix DaaS?
Citrix DaaS, which stands for desktop as a service, is the evolution of Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops. It is the desktop and application virtualization suite from Citrix. Citrix delivers the back end -- database, license server, storefront, delivery controller, NetScaler -- as a service in the cloud version. The other form is the on-premises version, which allows customers to create and manage their own back end. Citrix has no limitation on which platform it runs. This can be Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, a local platform or some other option.
Comparing Azure Virtual Desktop vs. Citrix
Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop and Citrix DaaS have many overlapping features, but as stated, AVD can only be used on Microsoft Azure Cloud. In contrast, Citrix supports many types of public cloud, private cloud and on-premises implementations.
If that factor alone doesn't determine the choice between the two platforms, organizations should review the features to help guide the decision-making process.
Integration
Azure Virtual Desktop is completely integrated into Microsoft Azure and fully uses the Microsoft Azure Resource Manager (ARM). With AVD, customers can use ARM templates, the Azure API and many other Azure features to manage and deploy an AVD environment.
On top of that, the AVD platform supports many partners, including Citrix, which can use the platform to create their own products and management environments. For example, Nerdio created a suite of AVD enhancements and management environments extending the capabilities of an AVD deployment.
Citrix DaaS is its own product and has its own management environment for the cloud. This is the citrix.cloud.com environment -- on-premises, it's the organization's own environment with delivery controllers and Citrix Studio. Citrix also has partners that can integrate within the platform. For example, Microsoft Entra ID is fully supported on Citrix Cloud and Citrix on-premises, or Netscaler.
Citrix Cloud has some features available through its API. Almost all features of Citrix DaaS are available with PowerShell to automate the deployment of the Citrix environment.
This means that if customers are already in the Microsoft ecosystem, there is a good chance they are already eligible to use Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop. Because AVD runs on Azure, customers must pay Microsoft for the Azure consumption of the environment.
With Citrix DaaS, this is different because it can run on any platform, even on premises. As such, there is no consumption, so Citrix just sells named or concurrent licenses. Multiple versions of Citrix DaaS and Citrix DaaS cloud licenses also tend to change names and prices often. These licenses are often sold through an implementation partner.
Flexibility
Both Citrix DaaS and AVD are highly flexible but in different ways. Citrix allows customers to place their servers and users in almost any public cloud, private cloud or on-premises environment. This gives Citrix environments a high level of flexibility regarding where to place users. It also allows customers to scale an organization over multiple platforms. Customers can automate their Citrix image deployment, and with one click, they can roll out new machines on premises or in the cloud. This allows them to burst out or easily migrate.
Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop is flexible in a different way as it only supports deployment on the Azure cloud. But it is exceptionally flexible in scaling out because it uses the power of the Microsoft Azure cloud. For example, if a customer needs four AVD machines now and 400 in an hour, this isn't an issue within Azure. This can also make the deployment very flexible in terms of cost. Another flexibility win for AVD is the use of different OSes. With AVD, it's possible to use Windows 10 and 11 in multiuser mode. This means that IT departments have all the perks of a Remote Desktop Services multiuser platform but on a consumer OS instead of a server OS. This means better integration with Office 365 and Teams in a more user-friendly GUI.
Image management
Citrix DaaS supports two types of image management: Machine Creation Service, which is for storage-based images, and Provisioning Services, which is for network-based images. Citrix image management is extremely good at nonpersistent environments and fast creation of machines from one image.
Microsoft AVD image management is more bare bones than Citrix. It can create multiple machines from one image, but these will not be nonpersistent. There is an option to create nonpersistent machines with ephemeral OS disks but this doesn't provide the same level of ease of use as Citrix image management. With automatic resets after each boot for Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktops, there are extra integrations with, for example, Nerdio to provide a better way to manages images.
Profile management
Citrix DaaS and Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop support FSLogix, and that is one of the best options customers will find for profile management. It's a set-and-forget product that works well.
However, Citrix does have a profile solution called Citrix User Profile Manager. Citrix UPM offers extra features that FSLogix doesn't, such as the roaming of Universal Windows Platform apps. Citrix UPM can also be combined with FSLogix to use the best of both worlds and have the most options available.
Monitoring and user management
Citrix shines in the topic of monitoring and user management. Citrix DaaS comes with Director, a powerful real-time monitoring tool allowing a help desk worker to help an end user directly with application, network or sign-in issues. Citrix provides Workspace Environment Manager for user management for free with DaaS. With WEM, IT can manage the start menu, desktop, explorer, printers, drive mapping and other critical end-user components.
Microsoft AVD doesn't provide a user management tool analogous to WEM except for using the standard Microsoft group policies. Administrators can monitor users with an Azure workbook, which provides some monitoring capabilities but is very basic. It's also impossible to directly influence a user session within the workbook, making support processes a bit more complicated.
While many customers may choose either AVD or Citrix DaaS, some organizations can use both. Citrix is a Microsoft partner with AVD, and both products can be combined.
User experience
Citrix uses its own HDX protocol to connect to the Citrix server, providing more flexibility and a better user experience on poor network connections. Azure Virtual Desktop has data centers all around the world, allowing IT admins to create AVD servers close to end users and improve the user experience, especially for organizations with worldwide user bases. Of course, customers can also use Citrix Cloud and Azure Cloud to connect end users closely over HDX, providing the best of both worlds.
With a good internet connection, the end-user experience, once connected, should be the same for AVD and Citrix DaaS. Except for the OS experience where AVD delivers a multiuser experience within Windows 10 and 11, this is only possible with Windows 2019 or 2022 with Citrix.
How to use both AVD and Citrix DaaS
While many customers may choose either AVD or Citrix DaaS, some organizations can use both. Citrix is a Microsoft partner with AVD, and both products can be combined.
To combine Azure AVD and Citrix DaaS, customers will need Citrix Cloud licenses -- these start at 250 users, so keep this in mind. Then, within Citrix Cloud DaaS, make a hosting connection to the Azure platform and make sure that all Microsoft AVD licenses are purchased. With these in place, customers can use the AVD exclusive Windows 10 and 11 multiuser image with Citrix.
Customers will get image management, monitoring, user management and HDX user experience from Citrix. Microsoft brings the power of large-scale Azure cloud platform with the best Office 365 and Windows 10 or 11 user experience -- as well as the ability to place machines as close as possible anywhere in the world. This could be the best of both worlds, but it will increase licensing costs so organizations should proceed with caution from a financial perspective.
Chris Twiest works as a technology officer at RawWorks in the Netherlands, focusing on the standardization and automation of IT services.
