The use of WVDs affords companies a plethora of cost savings and optimization possibilities. The important thing is to select the right size of the virtual machines, where the type, series and size play a crucial role in choosing the VM instance. Ideally, this comes down to finding an optimal agreement between resource capacities and actual requirements. At the start, correct sizing can present a challenge in the absence of use data that would indicate resource utilization relative to capacity. Here we recommend – if possible – creating a test environment for determining the actual requirement.
Another way to save costs is to exploit the advantages of Azure Hybrid. Looking at the hourly costs of a virtual machine in Azure, we find the computing costs as well as the costs for the operating system (OS). The OS costs are calculated analogously to the leasing costs for the license, according to an hourly rate. Applying pre-existing OS licenses is also possible, however. An analysis should be performed in order to assess the potential long-term cost savings of the bring-your-own-license model compared with the pay-as-you-go model.
In addition, so-called reserved instances can be booked. For such reserved instances, select a runtime of 1 or 3 years. During the runtime limit yourself to one VM size. In return for this commitment, Microsoft offers a significant price reduction for the use of these VMs. Since the price is fixed for the entire runtime, hourly planning costs no longer apply. In addition, the model is of the “use it” or “lose it” kind, so that no additional cost savings are afforded by turning off virtual machines.
Another benefit for many companies is certainly the absence of any additional license subscription costs. Windows Virtual Desktop is an included service that can be combined with existing user-based licenses for Microsoft 365 or Windows. In other words, whoever is already using Office 365 and has an E3 or E5 license need not expect further license costs.
