The convergence of economic, social, and environmental changes has transformed traditional work practices. The era of fixed office hours is over; in today’s global economy, work occurs at all hours and in various locations, necessitating greater workplace flexibility. With an increased emphasis on work-life balance and sustainability, along with technological advancements, the new era of hybrid work has firmly taken hold.
Hybrid work is not just a method for maintaining work-life balance or managing crises; it is a powerful tool for reimagining organizations to achieve greater efficiency, engagement, and innovation. Today, customer expectations, business strategies, and traditional setups have undergone permanent changes, and this shift is beneficial. An effective hybrid model offers numerous advantages, including enhanced well-being, increased productivity, and reduced costs.
Despite many businesses embracing this new way of working, some reservations persist. There are concerns about the long-term practicality of managing remote teams, along with issues related to productivity, security, creativity, and collaboration. Addressing these concerns is crucial. The rapid adoption of flexible and hybrid work environments has impacted organizations, employees, and customers.
Organizations that adapt quickly have a significant opportunity to develop transformational hybrid environments, benefiting customers, suppliers, and current and future employees. Through our strategic partnership, Microsoft and VMware are uniquely positioned to facilitate this transformation, helping you accelerate innovation now and in the future.
VMware guarantees highlyflexible and agile cloud services. With VMware’s solutions, we were able to respond quickly, even during the pandemic.
Hirofumi Mitsuishi, Executive Officer, System Development Division Head,
AEON Credit Service Co., Ltd.
Building your hybrid model: making the business case
Transitioning to a more flexible way of working comes with its challenges. However, with a clear vision, a comprehensive strategy, and adaptable IT solutions, it is entirely achievable. No matter where you are on your journey toward this new work paradigm, VMware and Microsoft are here to assist.
The momentum of hybrid working is unstoppable, but that doesn't mean organizations like yours lack control. There is no one-size-fits-all solution for hybrid work; your environment must align with your culture, people, and business needs. Rather than being forced into change, you are presented with a remarkable opportunity to adapt and reimagine across three critical areas:
Culture: Managing talent, investing in skills, and equipping all employees with the right tools.
Leadership: Managing the new interplay between employees and technology to optimal effect.
Technology: Supporting new communications and workflows that empower employees.
Now is the moment to determine the future vision of your organization and shape a model accordingly. A hybrid environment goes beyond merely permitting employees to work in the office, at home, or elsewhere; it serves as a foundation for a more innovative, efficient, and resilient organization. This model benefits everyone—employees, customers, suppliers, and more. When executed correctly, the rewards are undeniable.
Successful hybrid working cannot be achieved with a quick fix or a one-size-fits-all solution. A flexible and dynamic workplace requires a long-term strategy, involving processes, policies, and technologies that can adapt to rapidly changing demands. It must be secure to protect your data, devices, and networks, robust enough to support collaboration and creativity across remote and physical environments, simple for easy control and management, and seamless to maximize engagement and productivity.
Building this environment is a significant challenge, but Microsoft and VMware have the tools to simplify the process, assisting you in designing and deploying the ideal hybrid setup.
Microsoft and VMware: deliver the anywhere workspace
Efficiently virtualizing your desktops and applications allows you to build, secure, and deploy a digital workspace that supports your hybrid environment. This enables you to assist your employees wherever they are and provides your customers with the fast, flexible services they now expect.
Why virtualize desktops and applications?
Improve security: Data and apps never leave the data center, eliminating leakage at the endpoint.
Increase productivity: Deliver Windows, legacy, and business-critical apps to any device, with any operating system, to any location.
Ensure compliance: Granular controls help enforce compliance in regulated industries.
Modernize management: Simplify management across on-premises and cloud environments with a single pane of glass and control plane services that streamline image and app management, monitoring, and global brokering
Deliver an exceptional employee experience: Provide a consistent, personalized experience across desktops and apps with every log-in.
Horizon Cloud on Microsoft Azure
Horizon Cloud on Microsoft Azure enables organizations to connect their Azure instance to the user-friendly Horizon Cloud control plane, creating a secure, comprehensive cloud-hosted solution for delivering virtualized Windows applications and desktops. This platform offers the same feature-rich virtual desktops and applications as VMware Horizon but as part of a Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS) solution, installed and maintained by VMware.
The Horizon Control Plane provides a unified management interface, allowing efficient deployment, management, and scaling of desktops and apps across both on-premises and cloud environments. Available via Horizon subscription, Horizon Cloud on Microsoft Azure can be deployed either on-premises or in the cloud, providing a true hybrid desktop virtualization platform to support your end-users.
Azure Virtual Desktop
Microsoft has partnered with VMware to extend Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) features to customers using Horizon Cloud on Microsoft Azure. As Microsoft's strategic partner, VMware enables customers to enjoy all the benefits of AVD while also taking advantage of the enhanced remote experience, personalized desktops, and hybrid cloud management provided by VMware Horizon, all within a single managed service.
Horizon Cloud on Microsoft Azure is the exclusive solution that combines the cost-efficiency of multi-session Windows 10 or Windows 11 Enterprise with the personalization and advanced management features of VMware Horizon.
Better together
Enjoy all the advantages of Azure Virtual Desktop, the revolutionary Windows 10 or Windows 11 Enterprise multi-session solution, along with the productivity, cost control, and streamlined single-pane management capabilities of the enterprise-class Horizon Cloud solution. We handle the control plane and infrastructure, while you manage your desktops and apps.
Benefits include:
Comprehensive endpoint support with an enhanced remote experience
Optimizations for Microsoft Teams and other collaboration platforms
Cloud-optimized architecture specifically designed for Microsoft Azure
Flexible desktop options and configurations, including vGPU support
Support for Windows 10 or Windows 11 Enterprise multi-session
Hybrid management of both on-premises and cloud environments from a single interface
Flexible licensing for the most cost-effective delivery of Windows 10 or Windows 11 from Azure
Integrated application and user environment management tools
Microsoft and VMware: stronger together
As hybrid working becomes integral to modern work culture, more enterprises are focusing on agility. Organizations that embrace this shift to provide flexible services and environments are likely to gain a competitive edge in the evolving landscape.
Through our strategic partnership, Microsoft and VMware are positioned to help you build and support innovative, efficient, and secure hybrid solutions. We collaborate to design and deploy cloud environments with a comprehensive portfolio that includes Hybrid Cloud, Application Modernization, Intrinsic Security, Virtual Cloud Network, and the Digital Workspace.
We‘ve gained the amazing user experience of VMware Horizon Cloud combined with the scale and capacity of Azure Virtual Desktop and the underlying Azure cloud platform. Azure Virtual Desktop and VMware Horizon Cloud complement each other expertly and combine to form a powerful solution.
Billy Macdonald, Senior Director of DevOps,
Agero
Learn more here.