As organisations continue to embrace hybrid work models, the need for flexible, secure, and high-performance virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) has never been greater. At Microsoft Ignite 2025, Nutanix announced that its Nutanix Cloud Platform will support Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop in hybrid environments, allowing enterprises to run Azure Virtual Desktop on-premises using the Nutanix AHV hypervisor, while still leveraging Microsoft’s cloud-based management and control capabilities.
This move provides IT teams with a new level of deployment freedom. Rather than being tied exclusively to the public cloud, organisations can now balance performance, compliance, and cost by keeping sensitive workloads on-premises while still connecting seamlessly to Azure for brokering, orchestration, and scalability.
For highly regulated industries such as banking, healthcare, and government, where data residency, sovereignty, and low-latency access are critical, this hybrid model delivers significant value. Through Azure Arc–enabled servers, customers can securely connect on-premises virtual desktops running on AHV with Azure’s management stack, creating a unified environment that meets both regulatory mandates and performance needs.
The enhanced support for Azure Virtual Desktop on Nutanix enables several enterprise benefits, including:
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Hybrid flexibility – Combining on-premises performance with the ability to burst into Azure when additional capacity is needed
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Native Microsoft application support – Optimised performance for Microsoft 365, Teams, Entra, and other Microsoft security services
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Enhanced performance – Ideal for latency-sensitive, graphics-intensive, and business-critical workloads
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Predictable cost efficiency – Leverages existing Microsoft licensing and Nutanix infrastructure investments
According to Nutanix, its platform offers a resilient, secure, and cost-efficient foundation for VDI, making it easier for organisations to modernise their desktop environments without compromising control or user experience.
From Microsoft’s perspective, the collaboration strengthens Azure Virtual Desktop’s position as a flexible and scalable solution that can operate seamlessly across both cloud and on-premises environments. Customers can maintain the modern security model, identity management, and licensing advantages of Azure, while choosing the infrastructure strategy that best fits their business needs.
By expanding support for Azure Virtual Desktop into hybrid scenarios, Nutanix is helping enterprises move away from rigid, one-size-fits-all approaches to VDI. Instead, it enables a more adaptable and future-ready digital workplace — one that aligns with evolving workforce demands, regulatory realities, and cost considerations.
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