Windows 10 comes with built-in capability to mount ISO images. Aside from that, running images from within an OS is faster and more convenient than from physical disks.
One advantage of using disc images is that they are not limited by the space provided by a DVD or CD because they are stored on your computer’s hard drive. Mounting image files as virtual drives has largely removed the need for physical disks (along with all the other tech that’s deprecated them – like cloud storage and USB sticks).
