Desktop-as-a-Service is a stack of four layers
Most DaaS evaluations compare platforms — and miss that the platform is only one of four architectural decisions. This overview makes the layers visible and compares six platforms and five management tools line by line.
Four layers, one architecture
A DaaS solution is never just „AVD or Citrix“. It is a stack of four technical decision layers, embedded in a wider frame: the first question is which user groups exist at all — a shift worker needs something different from a CAD engineer or an external contractor. Strategy, technology and operations follow after that.
Where the user sits — and which device they use to reach the virtual desktop.
How the pixel travels from the data centre to the endpoint — the protocol defines the user experience.
Where Windows runs — Cloud PC, multi-session, on-premises or hybrid. This is where the six platforms sit.
Who may do what, how user profiles are stored, how patching happens — the invisible layer decides security and scale.
The six platforms at a glance
Every platform has a clear identity — and an ideal field of use. The short form here; the feature analysis goes deeper.
The Microsoft-native VDI platform
The personal Cloud PC
Cloud PC for shift workers
The enterprise gold standard
Hypervisor-flexible VDI
EU-sovereign, browser-only
The full comparison matrix
Six platforms · 12 modules · 270+ features. For a deeper technical comparison, the per-platform analysis with an interactive configurator goes further.
Method
How this overview comes together — sources, update cycle and the limits of what it can show.
No recommendations driven by sales interest. Strengths and weaknesses are shown with equal weight.
Based on official vendor documentation, release notes and verifiable technical whitepapers.
Last reviewed August 2026. The overview is revised whenever a relevant product change occurs — pointers to new developments are welcome.
More than ten years of enterprise workplace experience have gone into this, without any client-specific detail.
This page looks at the technical architecture in four layers. Strategy and operating model are deliberately handled separately: for identifying user groups see Persona-Clustering, for the strategic level TOGAF in practice, and for market developments the Vision modern Workplace.
A vendor-neutral comparison matrix for Desktop-as-a-Service.
6 DaaS platforms · 5 management tools · 270+ features
As at August 2026 · Maintained continuously — reports of errors or new developments are expressly welcome (contact options at the end of the page).
Seven questions this overview answers
Six routes to a virtual workplace are compared — in their cloud variants only. Editions running in your own data centre are out of scope.
- What can the platform do on its own? What all six provide, and where they differ.
- Is the platform enough on its own? Whether the built-in tools suffice, whether a management layer on top makes a difference, and whether a bundled console replaces it.
- What does the surrounding ecosystem contribute? What has to be governed around the desktop — and where the ecosystem makes the desktop unnecessary.
- Who needs what? Which user group needs which kind of workplace, including mixed operation.
- Does a claimed unique feature hold up? Where a vendor presents a capability as unique: do the others reach the same result by another route?
- Where does a capability come from? From the vendor itself, from the cloud platform underneath, or only with an additional product.
- Where does a vendor go beyond the platform? What it adds on top of what the underlying cloud already provides.
The first four questions shape the tabs. The last three sit in every single cell.
| Feature | AVDMicrosoft | Windows 365 EnterpriseMicrosoft | W365 FlexMicrosoft | Citrix DaaSCloud Software Group · Citrix Platform License | HorizonOmnissa (formerly VMware) · Horizon Universal | oneclick™oneclick AG (DE/CH) |
|---|
| Capability | NerdioNerdio · v8.1 | HydraLogin VSI | Microsoft built-insAzure portal · Intune · Entra | Citrix CloudCloud Software Group · Citrix Platform License | Omnissa CloudOmnissa · Horizon Universal | oneclick™oneclick AG |
|---|
Ecosystem compatibility
How well does each DaaS platform fit into the five core pillars of a modern enterprise workplace?
| Integration | AVDMicrosoft · Azure platform | W365Microsoft · Microsoft 365 | Citrix DaaSCloud Software Group · Citrix Platform License | HorizonOmnissa · Horizon Universal | oneclick™oneclick AG |
|---|
Special Use Cases
Suitability for high-security and specialised scenarios: PAW, the tier model, passwordless sign-in.
| Scenario / Feature | AVDMicrosoft | W365Microsoft | Citrix DaaSCSG · Citrix Platform License | HorizonOmnissa · Horizon Universal | oneclick™oneclick AG |
|---|
The starting point is a company that already holds Microsoft 365 E3 or E5. Figures follow vendor documentation, as at August 2026 — individual contract terms apply to any actual quote.
| What is needed in addition? | AVDMicrosoft | Windows 365 EnterpriseMicrosoft | W365 FlexMicrosoft | Citrix DaaSCSG · Citrix Platform License | HorizonOmnissa · Horizon Universal | oneclick™oneclick AG |
|---|
Microsoft®, Azure®, Windows®, Azure Virtual Desktop®, Windows 365® · Citrix® · Omnissa®, Horizon® · oneclick™ · Nerdio® · Login VSI®, Hydra™ · IGEL® · Unicon® and all other product and company names mentioned are registered trademarks of their respective owners. They are named here solely for factual comparison, as nominative use.
Spotted an error? Got news to share?
Let me know.
This overview is produced without any vendor commission — which is exactly why it lives on feedback from the field. Vendors ship new features every month, discontinue products and change licence models. What is accurate today may be out of date in four weeks. If you notice an inaccuracy, or know of a change that is missing here: every correction is welcome and gets built in promptly.
Something no longer holds, or never did? A short message is enough — a source is welcome.
kontakt@sofianesalmi.com →Prefer to discuss it in the open? A comment or message on LinkedIn — technical debate expressly welcome.
Connect on LinkedIn →Do you work at one of these vendors, or with one of these platforms every day as a partner? Tell me about changes in detail and I maintain them promptly. For you that means immediate visibility on a neutral comparison; for readers, an overview that is genuinely current.
Get in touch →All information is based on publicly available vendor documentation and has been compiled to the best of my knowledge — without warranty as to completeness or accuracy. For binding statements on scope, availability and terms, only the respective vendor is authoritative. Sources and trademarks are listed directly above this section.
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