Thomas Cowen
Technical Architect & MSP Enablement | 9to5Azure.com | Azure Virtual Desktop MVP
📋 Biography
I am a Technical Architect working across Azure, Azure Virtual Desktop, Microsoft 365 and Copilot, with a background in designing and delivering secure, scalable cloud solutions. My focus is becoming more around enablement, helping MSPs and businesses build repeatable architectures, improve delivery quality and achieve better long term outcomes. I write at 9to5Azure.com to share practical, real world guidance, and I am truly honoured to have been awarded Microsoft MVP status.
✨ High-Impact Contributions 3
This blog article covers the personal experience and observations that I have had with the App Readiness service causing black screen issues for AVD customers, and why this is caused. The blog covers the issues with the App Readiness service, the login delays and failures linked to the problem, how to make changes to resolve the issue and a one-click download registry key. Impact: The impact of this blog post is to provide users with a clear understanding of what the issue with the App Readiness service is, how it can be fixed, and a simple one click download to make this super-easy and quick for IT Pros. The aim of this blog post is to make it easy and quick for the issue to be resolved, whilst understanding and learning why this service can cause issues.
This blog article covers a range of options to optimise cost for Azure Virtual Desktop resources, and Azure VMs in general. It covers what Reserved Instances (RIs) and Savings Plans are, what the differences between them are and when to use them based on the use-case/scenario. The blog covers a step by step guide in configuring both pricing options, as well as commitment terms. Impact: This blog provides a cohesive overview of both discount options for Azure Virtual Desktop and Azure VMs, and how to configure both of them. It provides readers with the knowledge of what they both are, the impact of the discount options and assistance in the decision making process.
This blog post is focused on the amount of SMBs that I work with, that are choosing Azure Virtual Desktop over Citrix in the current digital landscape. It covers the changing landscape of VDI, what you're getting across both platforms, and a price comparison. It also covers the advantage of using Microsoft 365 and Azure Virtual Desktop, including access, migration and whether Citrix is still relevant. I highlight that for most SMBs and mid-market businesses, the native Microsoft approach is better than Citrix, with this being a personal opinion. This is due to the AVD solution delivering scalable desktops with native integration into the M365 ecosystem. Impact: This blog posts provides an up to date, recent comparison of the two most well-known cloud-based VDI solutions. More and more businesses are shifting towards AVD, and this blog post provides the impact into why businesses are making that choice.