On August 12, 2016, Microsoft announced a plan to retire Azure RemoteApp. Based on customer feedback and market dynamics, Microsoft adjusted their strategy to focus more on the cloud platform that underpins finished desktop and application virtualization services.
It’s a pity considering that this was a clear case of SaaS where public cloud can help to hide the complexity of the underling infrastructure (like with Office 365): in my opinion build a right-size and redundant infrastructure of Remote Applications is not so easy (and cheap) for most of the company.
The issues of Azure RemoteApp were that also in this case the solution wasn’t so cheap and application delivery was still too complex: why don’t use MSI, or App-V instead of build big virtual disk for the entire system?
And now? Because of this decision, Microsoft is expanding its our relationships with partners who build out those full solutions, most notably Citrix. Citrix is a long standing Microsoft’s partner in this space, and they have recently expanded the relationship to address these and new scenarios for joint customers using the Azure cloud.
New trials and purchases of Azure RemoteApp are no longer available as of now. Existing paid customers actively using Azure RemoteApp can use the service one year past our announcement date, so that they can migrate with minimal business disruption. Please evaluate our recommended alternatives for migration.