Desktop as a service

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
Anyone want not only Windows, but an entire desktop (the hardware) as a service?

Run, patched and managed by Microsoft...

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/09/18/microsoft_managed_desktop_service/

@SypderTracks - I assume this is what you were referring to recently? Though it turns out not just to be the OS!

That would make more sense, there was and still is a lot of scareware out there saying they were going to start windows as a subscription in 2020 for the standard retail or OEM versions, like O365.

We'll see. Business wise, it makes sense, managed infrastructure is the way it's all going (and what my company does).

Price points would be interesting, considering how high an Azure instance is, I wonder how competitive they can make a desktop space.
 

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
I suspect, like most innovations in this industry, that MMD will be very attractive to some organisations and a poisoned chalice to others. Those that use current software applications for example may well welcome MMD but those that depend on decades old legacy systems will be reluctant to trust Microsoft not to crash their systems with updates I suspect. The SLAs would be interesting to see!

One also wonders how hard Microsoft will press organisations using MMD to switch to Office 365 from whatever else they might be using?

I see also that; Under MMD, Redmond “can constantly monitor and improve, as well as enable us to manage the global MMD device population,” he said. Analytics and AI tools will “determine which devices are ready for feature updates or, conversely, whether a specific app is blocking a device’s ability to update so we can act”. The fuss over Windows 10 telemetry will pale into insignificance with MMD then. I wonder how many organisations will want Microsoft to have that level of access?

I loved this comment; So, in 2025 or so, we can expect an EU finding, accompanied by a massive fine, that Microsoft has been threatening to withhold MMD approval from OEMs who want to do naughty things like shipping Chromebooks or sytems with Linux preinstalled. Priceless!
 

Tony1044

Prolific Poster
That would make more sense, there was and still is a lot of scareware out there saying they were going to start windows as a subscription in 2020 for the standard retail or OEM versions, like O365.

We'll see. Business wise, it makes sense, managed infrastructure is the way it's all going (and what my company does).

Price points would be interesting, considering how high an Azure instance is, I wonder how competitive they can make a desktop space.

In the early days of Azure, Microsoft gave me 250 E5 CALS for free for a year to give out to customers. They also gave me US$250 per month of Auzre credits (these days as part of MAPS you get US$100 which can still occasionally be handy).

So I thought I'd have a play around - I configured what would have been a monster server for the time - something like 8 quad core Xeons, 128GB RAM, 240GB SSD + 1TB HDD.

The price came in at around US$24,000

Which I thought to myself wasn't actually that bad, as a similarly specc'ed HP or Dell server would have been a similar price.

And then I noticed that that was the price per month

And even now you know when you do pricing calculations on MS's Azure site, they have the little caveat that they are basing the pricing on 40 hours a week of being powered on.

You have to be VERY careful with your power plans if you move to Azure.

I suspect, like most innovations in this industry, that MMD will be very attractive to some organisations and a poisoned chalice to others. Those that use current software applications for example may well welcome MMD but those that depend on decades old legacy systems will be reluctant to trust Microsoft not to crash their systems with updates I suspect. The SLAs would be interesting to see!

One also wonders how hard Microsoft will press organisations using MMD to switch to Office 365 from whatever else they might be using?

I see also that; Under MMD, Redmond “can constantly monitor and improve, as well as enable us to manage the global MMD device population,” he said. Analytics and AI tools will “determine which devices are ready for feature updates or, conversely, whether a specific app is blocking a device’s ability to update so we can act”. The fuss over Windows 10 telemetry will pale into insignificance with MMD then. I wonder how many organisations will want Microsoft to have that level of access?

I loved this comment; So, in 2025 or so, we can expect an EU finding, accompanied by a massive fine, that Microsoft has been threatening to withhold MMD approval from OEMs who want to do naughty things like shipping Chromebooks or sytems with Linux preinstalled. Priceless!

And you hit the nail on the head for me that is one blocker to many of MS's managed service type deals for a lot of (particularly bigger, with a lot of legacy stuff around) customers - MS expect all of their online services, and therefore their customers, to be "evergreen" - that is, if you want support you will be no further behind than N-1, i.e. one version behind current.

I've lost count of customers, for example, with issues synching an on-premise AD with Azure AD to find out MS won't support them because their AAD Connect Client is a few versions out, despite knowing full well the newer version won't fix the specific issue.

However, there's a flip side to this - I am currently battling a 15 year old legacy platform for one of the UK's larger retailers to bring it kicking and screaming into a modern, secure, supported platform.

The original designs all called for the legacy platform to be retired sooner, rather than later.

But then it turns out a major application that is at least 18 months away from being replaced won't even install onto a non-XP-binary-based server so we can't even revert to the usual suspect here of drop in a Windows 2008 x86 (SP1) server for the "bad applications" to but a year or so of support (less now, of course).

If said company had actually been forced into upgrading at least core aspects of the platform, I wouldn't have hit more than a tiny percentage of the issues I've had to work around.
 

Tony1044

Prolific Poster
I loved this comment; So, in 2025 or so, we can expect an EU finding, accompanied by a massive fine, that Microsoft has been threatening to withhold MMD approval from OEMs who want to do naughty things like shipping Chromebooks or sytems with Linux preinstalled. Priceless!

I suspect though, like me, you remember Microsoft's petulant 90's phase where they managed to force OEM's to pay a license even if they sold a machine without Windows? Or punished them if they customised the OS by adding things like Netscape (once it became free, of course)?

And the anti-trust cases that came along as a result. :)
 

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
I suspect though, like me, you remember Microsoft's petulant 90's phase where they managed to force OEM's to pay a license even if they sold a machine without Windows? Or punished them if they customised the OS by adding things like Netscape (once it became free, of course)?

And the anti-trust cases that came along as a result. :)

Thank god the anti-trust case was actioned, can you imagine? Gates was a seriously dodgy but shrewd businessman!
 

Tony1044

Prolific Poster
Thank god the anti-trust case was actioned, can you imagine? Gates was a seriously dodgy but shrewd businessman!

Yeah I think all the best CEOs have a certain level of either psychopathy or at least sociopathy.

One thing about Gates, though, that I've heard was his ability to go from absolutely entrenched that a decision/direction was the correct one to do a full 180 if someone could convince him it wasn't, and to trust the people around him.

But some of his, and MS's practices were so dodgy. It used to be a bit of a joke that if MS offered to buy a company, you may as well take the money because otherwise they'd hold a grudge and go about destroying you by releasing arguably lower standard software but either free or significantly cheaper. At least until they held the monopoly.

And one of the few things I found admirable about Steve Jobs' leadership was that the men and women in his boardroom were held accountable. Not the managers or the staff below them, but them. If they committed, they committed and it was their heads on the block. No buck passing.
 

Stephen M

Author Level
People like Steve Balmer did not help Microsoft, his "Linux is cancer" tirade was not only pathetic but showed his wish to have a totally dominant OS. I have never understood some of the antics of MS as when they do things well they are a good company and there is no need, other than total greed, to try to force their products on people, if they are good they will be bought anyway.
 

Tony1044

Prolific Poster
People like Steve Balmer did not help Microsoft, his "Linux is cancer" tirade was not only pathetic but showed his wish to have a totally dominant OS. I have never understood some of the antics of MS as when they do things well they are a good company and there is no need, other than total greed, to try to force their products on people, if they are good they will be bought anyway.

Absolutely agree. Some of their software is excellent. Then there's their licensing terms alone...jaysus they're complicated.
 

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
People like Steve Balmer did not help Microsoft, his "Linux is cancer" tirade was not only pathetic but showed his wish to have a totally dominant OS. I have never understood some of the antics of MS as when they do things well they are a good company and there is no need, other than total greed, to try to force their products on people, if they are good they will be bought anyway.

Absolutely agree. Some of their software is excellent. Then there's their licensing terms alone...jaysus they're complicated.

IBM were exactly the same 30-odd years ago with mainframes. I worked for a time for their main competitor in the mainframe market (Amdahl) and our customers were subjected to constant FUD from IBM. Nothing changes.

(FUD: Fear Uncertainty and Doubt)
 
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