Microsoft ditches Azure RemoteApp for Citrix tool

Customers of Microsoft's Azure RemoteApp tool will need to transition to Citrix XenApp express for Windows remote desktop and application virtualisation as Microsoft prepares to shut down the product.

Azure RemoteApp came into existence around two years ago but will now be sunset with no further purchases possible after October 1 this year, Microsoft has revealed.

The company will continue to support Azure RemoteApp until August 31 2017, when the service will be wound down completely.

Citrix and Microsoft in May announced an expansion to their long-standing partnership across four areas: helping customers accelerate the move to the cloud, to Windows 10, and to Office 365; and to further empower users on mobile devices.

As a result, Microsoft said it now believes the best way to deliver on these aims is through Citrix's XenApp express, which is currently under development.

Microsoft said the Citrix XenApp express service combines the application remoting and scalability of Azure, along with security, management and performance, to deliver Windows apps to employees on any device.

The tool will be released as a technical preview in the fourth quarter this year, with Citrix aiming to have it in general availability by early 2017.