Microsoft recently announced a limited preview of Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) for hybrid environments, a new capability that brings cloud-native desktop virtualization to existing on-premises infrastructure.
With this update, on-premises Arc-Enabled Servers can be configured as AVD session hosts, expanding Azure Virtual Desktop’s hybrid capabilities beyond Azure Local to Microsoft Hyper-V, Nutanix AHV, VMware vSphere, and physical Windows Servers, or anywhere Arc-Enabled Servers can be deployed on-premises.
The core mechanism connects local infrastructure directly to the Azure control plane via Azure Arc, allowing central management of decentralized resources. Steve Downs, an Azure Virtual Desktop & Windows 365 Principal Product Manager at Microsoft, explains:
Azure Virtual Desktop for hybrid environments enables customers to run virtual desktops and applications in their own data centers by integrating Azure Arc with Azure Virtual Desktop. The virtual machines (VMs) function as session hosts that connect directly to the Azure Virtual Desktop service in the Microsoft Cloud.
The new deployment option is supported by key partners such as Nutanix, which is focused on extending the flexibility of AVD to customers running their workloads on the Nutanix AHV hyperconverged infrastructure platform. Moreover, this partnership ensures customers can maintain the operational benefits of their existing HCI environment while leveraging AVD’s unified cloud control plane.
Darryl van der Peijl, an Azure MVP, noted in a LinkedIn post the scope of the change:
With this update, Microsoft is broadening the scope: customers can now run AVD session hosts in their own on-prem data centers while still using the AVD control plane in Azure.
In addition, Didier Van Hoye, a Microsoft MVP, tweeted:
This is a smart move… #Azure Virtual Desktop #AVD will be available in many more scenarios. Limiting solutions to #AzureLocal was never a smart move and blocked many potential customers! #HyperV #MVPBuzz
The hybrid deployment option is particularly beneficial for organizations across industries, such as financial services, healthcare, and government, that must address critical compliance and regulatory requirements, where data residency and sovereignty are essential to operational integrity. By keeping the session hosts and application data local, AVD satisfies strict geopolitical regulations while leveraging cloud management features.
Orion Withrow, a Director, Windows Cloud Experiences at Optimum Healthcare IT, noted in a LinkedIn post the broad impact:
AVD’s hybrid story just leveled up. If your strategy includes remote desktops, app streaming, edge-locations, or regulated workloads, this announcement means you now have a unified platform capable of serving any scenario (cloud, edge, or on-prem) with enterprise-grade management.
Currently, organizations interested in learning more about Azure Virtual Desktop for hybrid environments can sign up via a preview interest form.
