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The need of creativity in regional development settings

You probably already know how dev-optimized virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) can revolutionize today’s developer workstation if you’ve been following our Microsoft Dev Box journey. Complex environment setup, lost productivity from competing setups, and a lack of scalability are often the bane of traditional, physical workstations. By giving developers self-service access to project-based workstations that are already setup, Microsoft Dev Box aims to address these issues while upholding centralized management and IT controls.

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GigaOm will examine the benchmark study Assessing Microsoft Dev Box Cloud-Based Developer Workstations, which was carried out by GigaOm, an independent research organization with extensive experience, in this blog post. Continue reading to find out how alternative dev workstations compare to Microsoft Dev Box.

Key findings from GigaOm’s research

The results of GigaOm’s thorough examination of Microsoft Dev Box capabilities at the beginning of the year, which included a thorough examination of performance configurations and field testing in which they installed a fresh Microsoft Dev Box, created custom images, and made use of Microsoft Visual Studio caching, speak for themselves.

GigaOm’s practical testing further deconstructed this conclusion into three main conclusions:

Compared to VDI options, Microsoft Dev Box greatly increased developer productivity while lowering setup time and IT expense.

Even while using public Wi-Fi and hotspots, the developer typing experience felt just as nice as on a local workstation.

With the example Chromium code base, a Microsoft Dev Box solution coupled with Visual Studio outperformed VDI or local clients in terms of performance.

How Microsoft Dev Box improves security and developer productivity

There are three main ways that Microsoft Dev Box adds value to organizations:

Transforming the experience of using a developer workstation.

Speeding up development processes with settings depending on projects.

Preserving centralized control and security.

GigaOm’s Performance Benchmark verified these claims. Let’s examine Microsoft Dev Box’s perks and GigaOm’s testing.

Enhancing the dev workstation

Self-service, on-demand access to your own workstations with Microsoft Dev Box revolutionizes dev workstations. You may boot up a dev box instance on any device without waiting for IT help, which is crucial when developer agility is key.

GigaOm’s ready-to-code dev box tests:

Microsoft Dev Box made developer typing seem like on a local workstation, even via hotspots and public Wi-Fi, and useable on poor internet connections. Microsoft Dev Box also benefits remote workers with poor or inconsistent internet by eliminating the need to download huge source files or development environments to their local device. Developing, creating, and testing apps feels like being in the datacenter.

GigaOm

GigaOm’s Performance Benchmark praised self-service, ready-to-code computers. Compared to a physical device, “a fully automated Microsoft Dev Box deployment using Azure VM Image Builder and customizations for Microsoft Dev Box sharply reduces time on task.”

GigaOm says Microsoft Dev Box:

“Can cut the setup time for a new user from six or more hours of configuration work and potentially days of shipping lag to under an hour with all the tools, prerequisites, network access, and the latest source code available by default.”

That might be hundreds or thousands of hours spent by your engineers on code.

Project-based setups speed dev processes

Dev Box lets you go beyond IT’s settings. Instead, Microsoft Dev Box lets you and your team customize IT core components like network configurations, base images, compute and storage configurations, and configuration-as-code files to create pre-configurations with everything you need for your project.

Preconfigured, project-based dev boxes for GigaOm:

Deploying numerous Dev Boxes removes the need for developers to frequently change their workstations for various project setups or manage local virtual machines. With distinct Dev Boxes, developers can smoothly transition between these segregated environments to work on projects with different technical needs without resource conflicts or performance degradation.

GigaOm

The GigaOm analysis shows that project-based setups and developer self-service access are beneficial. According to the source, Microsoft Dev Box may be configured with 32 vCPU, 128 GB RAM, and 2 TB storage, “far exceeding the capabilities of nearly every laptop on the market.”

Even more importantly, Microsoft Dev Box lets you mix storage and computing choices with project setups. GigaOm says you may transfer ready-to-code configurations from smaller Dev Boxes to a new computer. This may let you iterate fast on a mission-critical update or hotfix.”

Microsoft Dev Box has 64% quicker software creation times than a median-spec physical device due to its configurable flexibility, as demonstrated in the graph:Image credit to Azure

Centralized security and management

Microsoft Dev Box provides these advantages without affecting admin procedures or centralized control. IT administrators configure Microsoft Dev Box by controlling permissions, access restrictions, and network connections. Because Microsoft Dev Box is controlled by Microsoft Intune, IT managers can see all deployed instances from one place.

Microsoft Dev Box security and management: GigaOm

Using Dev Box, administrators can fully monitor and secure the cloud-based developer workstations that developers install using Microsoft Intune.

GigaOm

This control is crucial, according to GigaOm:

Virtual desktops from [Microsoft Dev Box] allow enterprises to safeguard sensitive corporate data on external devices. Contractors and suppliers use a virtual desktop on the company’s network, keeping critical data safe. This centralized method tightens access control, monitoring, and administration, decreasing data breaches and illegal usage.

Today and tomorrow’s dev experience transformation

GigaOm says Microsoft Dev Box can “achieve massive improvements in developer productivity, innovation velocity, and reduction of logistics and physical device management.”

What is Microsoft Dev Box?

Developer-focused cloud-based workstations may boost output and satisfaction.

Built-to-support important developer use cases, cloud workstations

Developers may self-service access preconfigured, project-specific developer boxes using Microsoft Dev Box, an Azure service. To prevent configuration conflicts, connect as needed and collaborate across many development machines. Utilize Microsoft Intune to manage dev boxes with physical devices to optimize security, cost-effectiveness, and compliance.

Infrastructure for cloud-based virtual desktops that is linked with development processes and designed to increase developer productivity

Time spent onboarding developers is reduced from days to minutes by using project-based setups.

Wherever in the globe, dev team members may enjoy excellent realism thanks to region-specific dev boxes.

With Microsoft Intune, businesses can safeguard cloud workstations just as they would traditional workstations.

Change the way developers work at workstations

Develop more quickly and begin coding in minutes with cloud-based workstations geared for developers. With all the resources and tools needed for developers to work with while yet retaining IT control, Dev Box arrives preconfigured and ready to code. Adapt dev boxes to your development tools and processes. With dev boxes ready to install in the nearest Azure region, you and your team can enjoy a high-fidelity connection from anywhere in the globe.

Launch preconfigured, project-based development boxes

Launch a development box fast, preloaded with the tools and code repository for the work at hand. Choose from a collection of development box pools established by your group without the need for IT assistance or picture management. Run many project-based development boxes at once to collaborate and get rid of setup problems. To meet your most demanding requirements on any device, switch between high-compute and daily dev machines.

Optimize developer compliance and security

Granular policy management and governance per dev box may help maintain the security of developers, their workstations, and their workloads. Use Microsoft Intune to centrally manage development boxes in addition to physical devices. Configure individual access restrictions and permissions for each development box based on the project, with zero trust as the default. Workflows may be isolated to prevent orphaned source code while maintaining productivity.

Microsoft dev box pricing

Using your current, valid Windows or Microsoft 365 licenses, pay as you go. Install development boxes according to your developers’ requirements; the cost of a dev box is determined by how much computation and storage it uses.

The cost of a Microsoft Dev Box is split into two parts:

1) Licenses for users:

Each user must have a license for Microsoft Endpoint Manager, Azure Active Directory P1, Windows 11 Enterprise, or Windows 10 Enterprise in order to utilize Microsoft Dev Box.

These licenses are included in subscriptions for Microsoft 365 F3, Microsoft 365 E3, Microsoft 365 E5, Microsoft 365 A3, Microsoft 365 A5, Microsoft 365 Business Premium, and Microsoft 365 Education Student Use Benefit in addition to being available separately.

Applications are designed, developed, and tested using Microsoft Dev Box.

2) Cost:

Microsoft Dev Box price covers all the costs associated with setting up development workstations in the cloud and offers both hourly and monthly pricing choices per dev box instance.

GigaOm is passionate about enabling vendors and partners to optimize how they work with clients and prospects, whilst empowering end-user organisations to make the best possible technology decisions based on their needs. Their practitioner-led model enables them to navigate the technical details and deployment realities faced by enterprises today, in this rapidly evolving market.  For vendors,…