Remote Desktop Services (RDS), a Windows Server capability for virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) scenarios, will soon get Azure Active Directory (AD) support, a more secure architecture and HTML5 browser access support.

Remote Desktop Services (RDS) allows you to access a remotely-hosted Windows desktop environment or application from almost any device. Microsoft is extending the capabilities of RDS to offer more security, flexibility to run Windows apps on any device, and cloud-readiness with upcoming additions to the RDS platform. Microsoft announced the improvements last week, indicating that a preview soon will be available. Microsoft did not state a date yet.

The RDS team has innovated in three key areas:

1. Security: RDS-hosted environments can use authentication with Azure Active Directory – see how you get advantages like Conditional Access policies, Multifactor Authentication, Integrated authentication with other SaaS Apps using Azure AD, and the ability to get security signals from the Intelligent Security Graph. Moreover, by isolating the infrastructure roles (Gateway, Web, connection broker and others) from the desktop and app deployment hosts, we add another layer to separation for higher security of your virtualized environments.
2. Cloud readiness: There are updates coming to infrastructure roles with innovations in the existing RD infrastructure roles – Web, Gateway, Connection Broker, Licensing – see how to take advantage of the elasticity and scale capabilities of Azure. Get a first look at the new Diagnostics role that helps you monitor your deployment effectively.
3. Windows apps on ANY device:  RDS has long had the flexibility to run on cross-platform desktop and mobile operating systems using apps, but we are now building support for HTML5 browser-delivered experiences. Of course, RDS works with Windows – even Windows 10 S – offering even more flexibility for how your apps and desktops are accessed.

To see these new capabilities for yourself, along with new cloud-integrated architectural options explained, check out the show at Microsoft Ignite.