Microsoft's "Mohoro" in the Works?

Though a Microsoft (News - Alert) spokesperson has said the company will not comment on speculation, there are some strong rumors floating about that indicate that Microsoft is developing a pay-per-use "Windows desktop as a service" that will run on Windows Azure.

Sources are saying that Microsoft's newest desktop virtualization service is codenamed Mohoro, and that it is in a quite early development phase. Some, like ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley, think it's likely that the product will launch in the second half of 2014.

Why the name “Mohoro”? The name is that of a town located on the island of Grande Comore of the Comoros Islands, in the Indian Ocean. Since sources say that members of the Microsoft India Development Center could be playing a key role in Mohoro's development, the codename fits. After all, it's not like Microsoft doesn’t already own the Mohoro.com and Mohoro.Net domain names.

The supposed Mohoro, like Windows Intune, belongs to Microsoft's Server and Tools family. 

 Windows Intune, though not yet hosted on Windows Azure, does make use of Windows Azure Active Directory as its directory and authentication service, and there is indication that it will make the move to Azure soon.

Windows Intune is the cloud complement to System Center. Similarly, Mohoro looks to be the cloud version of Remote Desktop/Remote App, with source calling it “Remote App as a hosted service.”

Microsoft presently offers multiple ways for users to access their Windows desktops remotely via different virtualization technologies and products. Mohoro could be intended for companies who want thin clients or to run legacy apps on new PCs, since at present, companies require their own servers to achieve this. By using Mohoro, a source reveals, “you click a few buttons, deploy your apps, use Intune to push out configuration to all of your company's devices, and you're done.”