In the bustling heart of the tech industry, Dave, a seasoned senior engineer with a knack for innovative solutions, embarked on a mission that would redefine remote work for his company, TechWave Solutions. Founded just five years ago, has rapidly grown into a leader in providing cutting-edge software solutions to businesses worldwide. However, with the onset of the global pandemic, the company faced a new challenge: enabling seamless remote work for its diverse and dispersed team.
Meet Dave
Identifying the Challenge:
TechWave Solutions had always prided itself on a collaborative in-office culture. However, the sudden shift to remote work highlighted several inefficiencies in their existing IT infrastructure. Employees struggled with accessing their work environments securely from home and with a recent influx of employees, desk space was limited if not non-existent at the office, leading to productivity bottlenecks and frustration and the workers wanted to embrace this new way of working. It became evident that a more robust, scalable, and secure solution was needed along with facilitating online collaboration and idea sharing seamlessly with users now working more remotely.
This is where Dave stepped in. Known for his problem-solving prowess, he quickly realised that the company needed a virtual desktop and remote application solution that could provide employees with the same experience they had in the office, regardless of their location.
Choosing Azure Virtual Desktop:
After evaluating various options, Dave decided that Microsoft’s Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) was the perfect fit for TechWave Solutions. AVD offers a comprehensive and flexible solution for deploying virtual desktops and applications, ensuring that employees can access their work environments securely and efficiently from anywhere in the world.
Planning and Preparation:
The first step in deploying AVD was to assess the company’s current IT infrastructure and identify the specific needs of each department and their respective location. Dave worked closely with department heads to understand their workflows, software requirements, and any potential challenges they might face during the transition.
Next, Dave conducted a thorough cost-benefit analysis in collaboration with his Cloud Solution Provider to ensure that the implementation of AVD would be both financially viable and beneficial in the long run. He also designed a detailed project plan, outlining each phase of the deployment process, from initial setup to user training and ongoing support.
Deployment Phase:
Dave, being the multidisciplinary visionary person he is, knew he needed to produce different deployment options to suit business requirements at different company sites. With this holistic approach in mind, Dave produced two different deployment options based on Microsoft’s Cloud Adoption Framework for Azure.
With a solid plan in place, Dave began the deployment of AVD focusing on the first deployment option, being Cloud only identities using Entra ID. The process involved several key steps:
Deployment 1: Small Cloud (Entra ID/Cloud only identities):
- Staging - The initial staging phase was remarkably swift, taking only 3 minutes. Dave created a Resource Group, a logical container for the company's resources, and set up the necessary Virtual Networks and subnets to ensure seamless communication between them. Flying through that step, Dave took a well needed break before cracking back into it.
- Deploy & Configure - Next, Dave, now well rested, deployed the core components of AVD, taking him a total of 17 minutes, with 12 of those being the wait time for the deployment to finish, giving Dave enough time for a quick nap. This included setting up the:
- Host Pool, which is a collection of identical Session Hosts/Virtual Machines along with the Session Hosts themselves (where users will do their work)
- Application Groups (logical grouping of apps for Remote Apps or Session Desktops and a Workspace (grouping of app groups which is how your users access the resources you virtualised)
- Finally, Dave assigned the relevant users/groups to the App Groups, added role permissions so users can sign-in with Entra ID to the Session Hosts and added user friendly names for the relevant AVD resources.
- Authentication - For authentication, Dave considered two options:
- Advanced Authentication - This involved setting up Single Sign-On (SSO) for password-less sign-ins and Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) with Conditional Access. This setup took 22 minutes, with 13 minutes dedicated to installing PowerShell modules.
- Basic Authentication - In scenarios where SSO is not used, users had to enter their credentials directly when accessing their resources. This option was faster, taking only 5 minutes, which still included setting up MFA with Conditional Access
- Optimise - To ensure optimal performance, Dave ran the Virtual Desktop Optimisation Tool, which took 20 minutes. This step included enabling Azure Backup for the AVD Session Host/VM.
Total Time for Daves Deployment:
- Using Advanced Authentication (SSO): 62 minutes
- Using Basic Authentication: 45 minutes
The Impact
The first deployment of AVD at was a resounding success. Employees quickly adapted to the new system, appreciating the seamless access to their work environments and the enhanced security measures. Productivity levels soared, and the company was able to maintain its collaborative culture despite the physical distance.
Moreover, the scalability of AVD allowed the company to onboard new employees effortlessly, providing them with instant access to the company’s resources and desk space was no longer a sticking point. This flexibility proved invaluable as the company continued to grow and expand its operations.
At TechWave Solutions, Dave’s journey is a testament to the impact that a dedicated engineer can have on a company’s success. Through his expertise and commitment, he has helped create a resilient and adaptable workplace that continues to thrive in an ever-changing world.
However, Dave’s journey is far from over. Stay tuned for our next blog, where we will delve into the details of the medium to large hybrid cloud deployment, highlighting the complexities and solutions that Dave implemented to further enhance TechWave Solutions' remote work capabilities. Through his expertise and commitment, Dave continues to shape a resilient and adaptable workplace that thrives in an ever-changing world.
