Why We Love Nerdio (and How We Complement Them)

We get asked this question a lot: “How do you compare to Nerdio?”

It’s a great question, and one we’re always happy to answer. Because honestly? We’re big fans of Nerdio. They’ve built something genuinely impressive.

Nerdio: The Swiss Army Knife of AVD Management

Let’s be clear about what Nerdio offers. It’s a comprehensive platform that handles virtually every aspect of Azure Virtual Desktop management:

Deployment and provisioning — Spin up entire AVD environments
Image management — Create, update, and deploy golden images
User management — Assign users, manage permissions
Auto-scaling — Dynamic resource management
Cost management — Reserved instance recommendations, cost tracking
Monitoring and analytics — Performance dashboards, alerting
Integrations — FSLogix, MSIX app attach, and more

For organisations looking for a single platform to manage their entire AVD lifecycle, Nerdio is genuinely excellent. Their team has built a mature, feature-rich product that thousands of organisations rely on daily.

So Where Does The Smart Scaler Fit?

We took a different approach. Instead of building a platform that does everything, we asked: What if we focused obsessively on one thing and did it exceptionally well?

That one thing is intelligent cost optimisation through smart scaling.

The Focused Approach

The Smart Scaler does one job: reduce your AVD compute costs through intelligent, automated scaling decisions.

We don’t manage your images. We don’t handle user provisioning. We don’t deploy new environments.

What we do is analyse your usage patterns, understand your business calendar, and make scaling decisions that save you money — automatically, reliably, and with minimal configuration.

Why Choose a Focused Tool?

There are several scenarios where a focused approach makes sense:

1. You Already Have Management Tooling

Many organisations have existing processes for AVD management. They might use:

Azure native tools (Azure Portal, ARM templates, Bicep)
Infrastructure-as-code (Terraform, Pulumi)
Custom scripts and automation
Microsoft Endpoint Manager

If your deployment and management workflows are already sorted, you don’t need another platform to handle those tasks. You need something that plugs into your existing setup and adds value.

2. Cost-Conscious Entry Point

Enterprise platforms come with enterprise pricing. That’s not a criticism — comprehensive platforms require significant investment to build and maintain, and they deliver commensurate value.

But not every organisation needs every feature. If your primary pain point is “we’re spending too much on AVD compute”, why pay for image management, deployment automation, and twenty other features you won’t use?

The Smart Scaler offers a lower barrier to entry. Connect your Azure environment, configure your scaling preferences, and start saving. No lengthy implementation project required.

3. Complementary Capabilities

Here’s something that might surprise you: The Smart Scaler works alongside Nerdio.

Some of our customers use Nerdio for overall AVD management and The Smart Scaler for cost optimisation. The platforms don’t conflict — they complement each other.

Nerdio handles the heavy lifting of environment management. The Smart Scaler focuses purely on making intelligent scaling decisions that minimise your compute spend.

Our Philosophy: Do One Thing Well

There’s a Unix philosophy that resonates with us: “Do one thing and do it well.”

The Smart Scaler is built on this principle. We’re not trying to be everything to everyone. We’re trying to be the absolute best at intelligent AVD cost optimisation.

This focus allows us to:

Iterate quickly — All our development effort goes into improving scaling intelligence
Keep pricing simple — No complex feature tiers or enterprise negotiations
Minimise complexity — Setup takes minutes, not days
Deliver measurable ROI — Our value proposition is simple: we save you money

The Right Tool for the Job

Choosing between comprehensive platforms and focused tools isn’t about one being “better” than the other. It’s about finding the right fit for your situation.

Consider Nerdio if:

You’re deploying AVD from scratch and want an all-in-one platform
You need comprehensive lifecycle management
You want a single vendor for all AVD tooling
Your organisation prefers consolidated platforms

Consider The Smart Scaler if:

Your primary concern is reducing AVD costs
You have existing management tooling that works for you
You want a quick win with minimal implementation effort
You’re looking for a cost-effective, focused solution
You want to complement your existing platform with specialised cost optimisation

In Summary

We genuinely admire what Nerdio has built. They’ve created a comprehensive platform that solves real problems for thousands of organisations.

The Smart Scaler takes a different path — focused, lightweight, and obsessively dedicated to one outcome: saving you money on AVD compute costs.

Both approaches have merit. The best choice depends on your specific needs, existing tooling, and organisational preferences.

And remember: you don’t necessarily have to choose. Many organisations find that using both tools together gives them the best of both worlds.

Want to see how The Smart Scaler could complement your existing AVD setup? Start your free trial and see the savings for yourself.