Sheridan College modernizes with the Microsoft Cloud and Azure Virtual Desktop

Post-secondary IT teams must balance the needs of faculty, staff, and students while working within budgeting and staffing constraints. The rise in remote learning and increased use of personal devices to access organizational resources add to the pressure. Plus, security is always a concern. Sheridan College, one of Ontario’s leading postsecondary organizations, was using an aging on-premises virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) system that was unable to keep up with the demands of modern learning, thus creating more issues than it solved.

The workloads running on-premises included general purpose virtual desktops and collections of applications or “pools.” The college had application-specific pools to support assorted majors such as pharmacy, business, and advertising. The VDI had a maximum capacity of 1,600 users split evenly between two datacenter sites with a 1:1 ratio of user to virtual machine. This fell far short of the estimated 18,000 full-time and 35,000 continuing and part-time students on campus during peak periods.

Ongoing maintenance and required updates led the aging VDI to dominate the IT team’s workday. The existing software was difficult to install, leading to long downtimes for users, while also lacking the scalability required to expand or contract based on demand. As a result, the college consistently paid peak costs year-round, despite seasonal shifts in demand. In addition to these long-standing concerns, the IT team realized the VDI was ill-equipped to handle their modernization plans, starting with remote network access. When it came time to renew licenses, the Sheridan College IT team saw an opportunity to update and modernize their thin client solution.

Old infrastructure, new challenges

“Students assume they can access the school network and applications using their personal laptops and mobile devices. They expect it. It’s our job to ensure they can do that without compromising network security,” says Kevin McDermott, Senior System Administrator, Computing Systems, Information Technology, Sheridan College.

The team wanted to offer a browser-based remote desktop protocol (RDP) that would allow users to access school resources through the internet on a local network. However, the existing system didn’t support it. “Using a gateway software package to connect our existing VDI with an RDP package was an option. Just not a good one,” McDermott says. “We’d be paying for another license and adding to our workload.”

Sheridan College’s VDI licenses came up for renewal in 2022. The timing could not have been better. The school had recently announced a cloud-first strategy, and this renewal period gave the IT team a chance to shift their VDI solution from on-premises to a more flexible, scalable cloud solution. They found a solution in the Microsoft Cloud.

Finding the right fit with Azure Virtual Desktop

First and foremost, Sheridan College needed a solution that could integrate with its existing hardware. The school had significantly invested in thin client hardware for use by staff, faculty, and students across the campus. The clients’ hardware offers highly managed access to school-related applications, including specialized software related to certain majors. The devices, also known as “dummy” terminals, don’t have operating systems or applications installed locally. Instead, they provide direct access to a predetermined set of network resources, including applications. Users can interact with authorized apps but cannot download them or save files locally. They also can’t access unauthorized apps or websites, which helps protect the network against outside attack.

“We needed a solution that could support our existing endpoints, so we could keep our legacy zero-client hardware investments without buying new endpoints,” McDermott says. “But we also needed a flexible solution that could grow or shrink the environment on demand. Cost was also a major consideration.”

In addition to these core requirements, the team wanted to offer users a familiar interface. A quick and simple rollout was also necessary to minimize downtime. The team knew a cloud solution would offer all this and more. Sheridan College engaged Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program member Softlanding to help with solution evaluation and rollout. It didn’t take long to identify the best option: Azure Virtual Desktop.

Putting Azure Virtual Desktop to the test

Azure Virtual Desktop is a cloud VDI solution that delivers hosted remote desktops and applications that offer greater flexibility, control, and security than the previous solution used by Sheridan College. It had the benefit of integrating seamlessly with both Microsoft 365 and the school’s existing thin client hardware while offering a familiar Windows experience for users across campus.

Sheridan College launched its new Azure Virtual Desktop service in May 2022. “We used Azure Virtual Desktop in the summer months as a testing period,” McDermott says. The initial trial included 500 Azure Virtual Desktop seats including 375 general purpose seats, 25 for the Assessment Centre, 60 for Advertising majors, and 40 for Pharmacy majors. By comparison, the school would have 1,600 seats during the regular session periods. “Demand is lighter in the summer, as fewer classes are offered. This gave us a chance to ensure everything was running smoothly before fall session began.”

Since the rollout, Sheridan College has had a net-positive experience. “Our previous VDI environment was fixed, meaning there was a limit on how many resources it could host at one time. Azure Virtual Desktop can scale up or down to meet demand, removing that barrier,” McDermott says. Azure Virtual Desktop is also the only cloud VDI solution that takes advantage of Windows 11 and Windows 10 multi-session capabilities to allow multiple concurrent user sessions on a single virtual machine, instantly expanding user capacity.

Azure Virtual Desktop has also proven to be more cost effective than the previous solution. For example, previously, Sheridan College had a per-user Windows license in place, meaning the student to virtual desktop ratio was 1:1. With Azure Virtual Desktop, the school has shifted to a multi-session license that scales up or down based on usage. During the summer session, the school achieved a 6:1 ratio, greatly reducing the number of licenses required to provide the same level of access to faculty, staff, and students. Moving to Azure Virtual Desktop has also eliminated the need to handle patching and maintenance onsite, greatly freeing the school’s IT department to focus on other issues. Perhaps most importantly, it provides a more secure way for users to connect to the network from personal devices.

“There was a shift to using personal devices during the pandemic. Today, all staff use laptops. But those devices aren’t necessarily domain-joined and from trusted hosts,” McDermott says. “We also have users working on non-Windows devices that need to run Windows-only software.”

Moving to Azure Virtual Desktop enabled IT to extend network support to authorized users both on and off campus without compromising network security. Authorized users can still access the network using the thin client hardware on campus or enter through a browser-based remote desktop web client. Both offer access to the same internal resources, including Microsoft 365 and school-related apps.

Moving to Azure Virtual Desktop has greatly improved efficiency and reduced management time for the team. “We’ve recognized administrative-staff time savings, and we haven’t had to patch servers, infrastructure, or software. That has saved us a lot of time, resources, and budget,” McDermott says. “And we’re just getting started in the cloud.”

“Through the collective efforts of our IT team and the strong partnerships with Microsoft and Softlanding, Sheridan College has embraced Azure to enhance our educational landscape,” adds Richard Godsmark, Associate Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Sheridan College. “This has been pivotal in providing advanced, secure, and accessible technology solutions for our community, enhancing our teaching and learning capabilities within the evolving hybrid educational landscape.”

Find out more about Sheridan College on X, Facebook, and LinkedIn.