Lucidity has been at the forefront of remote desktop technology for over two decades. Until 2019, we operated our own hardware platforms hosted in New Zealand data centers. However, with the advent of Azure Virtual Desktop in 2019, we made a strategic decision to migrate all our customer platforms to Microsoft Azure over the next few years.
At that time, our existing hardware was nearing the end of its life cycle, and we faced a critical choice: invest millions of dollars in upgrading our platform or fully embrace the cloud. Ultimately, migrating to Azure made perfect sense for our business.
However, in our day-to-day interactions with customers, we’ve encountered a common scenario. Some clients are still in the early stages of their hardware lifecycle and hesitate to discard recently purchased equipment. They rightfully seek a return on their investment before fully transitioning to the cloud.
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Enter a compelling solution: Azure Stack HCI.
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Azure Stack HCI allows you to seamlessly extend your on-premises server hardware into the Azure ecosystem. Here’s how it works:
- Azure Stack HCI: It’s a hyperconverged infrastructure host from Microsoft, delivered as an Azure hybrid service. You buy and operate the hardware, and the host software is obtained via an Azure subscription.
- Per Core Pricing: Azure Stack HCI is priced on a per physical core basis on your on-premises servers. If you’re a Windows Server Datacenter customer with active Software Assurance, you can exchange core licenses to activate Azure Hybrid Benefit. The pricing starts at $17.00 NZD per physical core per month.
- On new or existing server hardware, install the latest version of Microsoft’s server operating system. (Note: there a minimum requirements for the platform, not all existing server technology is compatible).
- Leverage Azure ARC to link your server with your Azure tenancy. This integration enables you to provision virtual machines and workloads on your own equipment while leveraging Azure for other computing needs.
- With Azure Virtual Desktop, you can harness Microsoft’s robust cloud-based gateway infrastructure. Meanwhile, user workloads run directly on your own servers within your data center or server room.
- Thanks to RDP ShortPath, a technology introduced last year, your Remote Desktop sessions connect directly between you and the session host. This direct path ensures minimal latency, especially if your server is located in New Zealand.
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In summary, Azure Stack HCI strikes a balance between on-premises control and cloud benefits, offering the best of both worlds for organizations still running their own hardware platforms.
By combining Lucidity’s expertise, Azure Virtual Desktop, and Azure Stack HCI, your organization can achieve efficient, secure, and cost-conscious virtualization.
If you’re intrigued by the benefits and security enhancements of modern technologies like Azure Virtual Desktop, but find the monthly compute costs daunting—especially when you still have a server platform with years of life remaining—reach out to Lucidity. We’ll explore how we can bridge that gap for you.
