Managed Desktop as a Service
cloud desktops without the platform burden.

Desktop as a Service (DaaS) delivers a full Windows desktop running in the cloud — accessed by the user from any device (laptop, tablet, phone, thin client) over the internet. The desktop, the user's profile, the installed applications, and the data all live in Azure (or another cloud). The user device just renders the screen. DaaS replaces the traditional model where every employee needed a powerful local laptop that had to be procured, imaged, deployed, patched, and refreshed. With DaaS, the heavy lifting moves to the cloud — predictable monthly cost, anywhere access, simpler endpoint management, and substantially better security posture for compliance-regulated environments.

Windows 365 is a per-user fixed-price Cloud PC — each employee gets a dedicated Windows 11 cloud desktop billed at a flat monthly rate (around $30 to $160 per user per month depending on spec). Simple to license, simple to deploy, simple to budget. Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) is a consumption-based platform where you build session host pools and pay for Azure compute and storage by the hour. AVD supports multi-session Windows (multiple users sharing a single virtual machine), which can be substantially cheaper for high-density workforces. AVD is more powerful and flexible but requires meaningful Azure engineering. Most engagements use both — Windows 365 for executives and persistent-desktop users, AVD multi-session for the general workforce.

Traditional VDI (on-prem Citrix or VMware Horizon) requires substantial capital infrastructure — servers, storage, networking, hypervisor licensing — and dedicated engineering to operate. The upfront capital is large and the operational burden is ongoing. DaaS eliminates the infrastructure problem. The cloud provider owns the servers, storage, and network. WCC manages the platform configuration, identity, images, and user experience. Result: faster deployment (weeks instead of months), predictable OpEx instead of CapEx surprises, anywhere-access by default, easier scaling (add 50 users tomorrow), and substantially lower operational burden. Traditional VDI still has niches (very high density, specific GPU workloads, air-gap requirements) but for most mid-market businesses, DaaS is the better economic answer.

Windows 365 Cloud PCs run $30 to $160 per user per month depending on spec (typical mid-tier business config: 2 vCPU, 8 GB RAM, 128 GB storage runs around $50 per user). Azure Virtual Desktop is consumption-based — typical multi-session general workforce comes in around $25 to $50 per user per month including compute, storage, and Microsoft licensing. WCC management fees run $15 to $35 per user per month bundled with managed services. All-in DaaS for a typical knowledge-worker business: $80 to $130 per user per month covering the cloud desktop, identity, conditional access, profile management, monitoring, and support.

Yes — and often better than physical desktops. Because the data never leaves the cloud, DaaS environments are dramatically easier to scope for HIPAA, PCI DSS, SOC 2, and NIST 800-171. Common patterns: HIPAA-regulated healthcare uses Windows 365 + conditional access + FSLogix profiles to keep PHI inside Azure; PCI DSS merchants put cardholder-data-touching workflows behind AVD session hosts; defense contractors use GCC High AVD for CUI handling. The compliance angle is one of the strongest cases for DaaS.

WCC operates DaaS environments as a managed service — golden image authorship and updates, application packaging and delivery, FSLogix profile management, Entra ID identity and conditional access policies, performance monitoring (login times, session quality, pool utilization), capacity planning, security patching, and 24/7 helpdesk support for user-facing issues. The customer's IT team can focus on business systems while WCC handles the platform. Image updates are tested in staging pools, deployed to production on a controlled schedule, and rolled back if user-impacting issues arise. Pool capacity is right-sized monthly to balance cost and performance.