Migrating to Azure Virtual Desktop for Global Operations

About the customer

Our client is a global enterprise with a distributed workforce across four major regions. Their current Citrix-based infrastructure was critical to their operations, but they sought a more scalable, secure, and cloud-based alternative. With operations in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, they needed a robust remote desktop solution to support employees working remotely or without access to their corporate laptops. Given the increasing demand for cloud services, they decided to migrate their Citrix environment to Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD), capitalising on Azure’s scalability and flexibility.

The Challenge

Our clients legacy Citrix environment was no longer meeting their needs, particularly in terms of scalability and global compliance. They needed a solution that could handle increasing demand, provide continuous availability, and meet the regulatory data protection standards specific to regions like Switzerland. Key challenges included:

• Global Coverage and Performance: They needed a unified AVD solution that could provide reliable, low-latency service to users spread across different continents.

• Compliance with Data Regulations: Specific regions, like Switzerland, had strict data privacy laws requiring local hosting.

• Seamless Migration: They wanted to ensure a smooth transition from their Citrix environment without disrupting users or causing significant downtime.

• Complex Application Deployment: Applications had to be centrally managed and deployed via Intune to ensure consistency across the global user base.

Our Approach

To address these challenges, Coffee Cup Solutions took a structured, multi-stage approach to design, build, and deploy the Azure Virtual Desktop environment for our client.

Design the AVD Environment
Coffee Cup Solutions began by designing a scalable AVD environment that aligned with our clients business objectives and geographical requirements. This involved conducting workshops to gather input on application deployment and environment configuration, ensuring the design followed best practices.

Create Azure Resource Groups and Networking
In the second stage, resource groups and virtual networks were created in the Azure UK region to host the AVD environment. Our client provided a naming convention for the resource groups and network subnets, and a site-to-site VPN was established to connect Azure to their corporate offices, supporting legacy applications.

Build Custom Images for Desktop and Remote Applications
Two custom images were built: one for single-session desktops and another for multi-session remote applications. These images were based on Windows 10 and tailored to our clients requirements, with custom applications deployed via Intune.

Deploy Applications via Intune
Coffee Cup Solutions used Microsoft Intune to deploy key business applications to the AVD environment, including Office 365, iManage Work10, LexisNexis, and Adobe Reader. This ensured consistent application access across all desktops, with client-defined applications pre-installed in the gold image.

Build AVD Components in Azure
Key AVD components, such as host pools, application groups, and workspaces, were deployed in the Azure resource groups. One host pool was set up for the UK region, while another was planned for Switzerland to comply with data residency laws.

Deploy Desktops and Monitor Performance
Ten single-session desktops were deployed to the host pools, joined to Active Directory for user authentication. we continuously monitored performance, particularly for Hong Kong users, to ensure optimal operation. If needed, an additional AVD instance would be deployed in an APAC region closer to the users.

Environment, Application, and Profile Management
FSLogix was used for profile management, ensuring seamless user experience and application consistency across different sessions. Additionally, application personalisation settings were migrated from AppSense to Intune, ensuring smooth transitions.

Custom URL for AVD Access
To simplify user access, a custom URL was configured for AVD, providing users with an intuitive and centralised point of entry. We implemented an Azure function to handle redirection and ensure access consistency.

ControlUP Monitoring
ControlUP monitoring was integrated into the AVD environment to track performance and resource utilisation. This monitoring solution provided our client with real-time insights into system health and user experience.

Environment Testing
Finally, we conducted rigorous environment testing, ensuring that all desktops and applications were functioning as expected. A comprehensive user acceptance testing (UAT) plan was developed to ensure the system met our clients requirements before full deployment to end-users.

Coffee Cup Solutions successfully designed and deployed an Azure Virtual Desktop environment tailored to our clients global operations. By migrating from a traditional on-premises Citrix setup to a cloud-based AVD solution, our client gained a scalable, compliant, and high-performing remote desktop infrastructure. The staged approach ensured minimal disruption to operations, while features like custom URLs and Intune-based application deployment provided seamless user experiences across regions. ControlUP monitoring and FSLogix profile management further enhanced system reliability and performance. Our client now has a future-proof, cloud-based virtual desktop solution that can scale with their growing business needs.