After years of rumours and months of speculation, we finally have a release date for Windows 365. On August 2, get ready for yet another change in cloud computing, and a crucial one at that. The release of Windows 365 represents a groundbreaking development, especially since organisations across the world have been grappling with the best ways of facilitating a hybrid workplace.
Ahead is an in-depth discussion of what Windows 365 is and what it seeks to accomplish. Let’s get to it.
What Is Windows 365?
Windows 365 is not a product in the conventional sense, but rather a subscription service. It’s not something that you run or install on your PC, but rather a service that enables you to create and operate your PCs remotely. In essence, Windows 365 is a hybrid of Microsoft Remote Desktop and a virtual machine—Microsoft refers to it as a Cloud PC.
Typically, Windows 365 enables you to create a Windows PC on Microsoft servers and connect to them from any location. Moreover, you can access all the apps in Windows 365 on any device, including your phone, and complete any tasks that you need to do.
A Solution to the Hybrid Work Paradox
As the pandemic starts to ease in different corners of the world, a new way of working has emerged—hybrid work characterised by remote collaboration and virtual processes. In this more distributed work setting, employees need to have access to corporate resources across devices and locations. And given the high cybersecurity threat, ensuring that those resources are secure is crucial.
Microsoft is positioning Windows 365 as the solution to various problems faced in the hybrid workplace. For starters, this cloud-based solution upholds compliance and the high levels of security that your business demands. Just like it does with all its products, Microsoft offers full industrial and regional compliance in its Windows 365 product. As such, its users won’t have to contend with the shortcomings of VPNs anymore. Moreover, given that your Cloud PC is different from the device you use to gain access to it, you’ll have more control over your data such that you can prevent it from being duplicated on local PCs.
Also, the principle of Zero Trust with which Windows 365 is built means that your information is secured and stored in the cloud and not on the device. Additionally, Cloud PC (hybrid personal computing classification created by Windows 365) harnesses the capabilities of the device and the power of cloud computing to provide your employees with a fully personalised experience. As such, Windows 365 provides your employees with a secure, more personalised, and productive working experience.
Another reason that makes Windows 365 a good fit for the hybrid workplace is its scalability—companies can adjust their pricing based on their needs.
The Transformative Attributes of Windows 365
By harnessing the strength of the cloud and the power of the Windows operating system, Windows 365 empowers organisations in the following ways:
- Simplicity of operations: Using a Cloud PC enables users to not only log in and pick up where they left across different devices, but also gives them a familiar and simple Windows cloud experience while using these devices. For IT, Windows 365 simplifies updates and management, deployments—and to top it off, it doesn’t need virtualisation to accomplish these tasks. When Windows 365 is optimised for an endpoint, your IT department can easily purchase, deploy, and manage Cloud PCs just like they would physical PCs via a Microsoft Endpoint Manager (MEM). Small and medium-sized enterprises can acquire Windows 365 directly via a cloud service provider, and just with a few clicks, set up their organisation with a Cloud PC. Suppose you are one of those organisations with a deep virtualisation experience; Microsoft continues to innovate in its Azure Virtual Desktop to provide you with more flexibility and customisation options.
- Power: Windows 365 provides a wholesome experience in the cloud. For instance, the instant on-boot feature of the personal Cloud PC enables users to stream all their tools, data, applications, and settings from the cloud across different devices. The cloud also affords users flexibility in storage and processing power. As such, you can scale up or down your usage of Windows 365 based on your needs. With the choice of either Windows 10 or 11 on the horizon, businesses will be able to choose the Cloud PC that best suits them, primarily based on the per-user per-month pricing.
- Security: Windows 365 leverages the principles of Zero Trust and the power of the cloud to enhance the security of your data. Moreover, Windows 365 can simplify security and recommend the best security settings for your organisation by building on the strength of the rich Microsoft security baselines and capabilities.
- Health and monitoring capabilities: Microsoft plans to add an inbuilt analytics component that will enable you to monitor the condition of your domain connections and VNETs. Moreover, Microsoft will also run continual diagnostics via their watchdog to alert you in case you have any problems and offer you suggestions of mitigation measures you can take to solve these issues.
What’s the Next Step for Businesses?
Times are changing, and with it, the business environment. Businesses should be agile and embrace the changes in order to thrive in the newly adopted hybrid workplace. One such change that they should embrace is Windows 365. This is due to the fact that Windows 365 seems to be powerful enough to provide an answer to the hybrid work paradox. It not only allows organisations to distribute resources to their employees across devices and locations but also ensures that the resources are secure during the process. Moreover, Windows 365 and Cloud PC enable organisations to run their operations more efficiently and at minimal costs.
Given that Microsoft 365 is still new, some organisations may have a hard time incorporating it into their operations. Worry not! Steadfast solution experts can help you integrate it into your operations. Contact us today to learn more about Cloud PC and Windows 365 and how they can improve your business.