We have recently discussed the development, rollout, and pricing of the Windows 365 Cloud Service. This week, Microsoft officially announced the general availability of Windows 365 Cloud PC to the business community and outlined the resources available to help organizations get started with the new service.
Windows 365 is the world’s first Cloud PC service. The cloud PC offers users a virtualized computing experience that securely streams Windows desktops, apps, settings, and content from the cloud to any device regardless of location. Windows evolves from a device-based operating system (OS) and branches into hybrid personalized computing with this rollout. With Windows 365, Windows becomes a hybrid local OS and cloud OS. Organizations can opt for a traditional PC with locally installed OS, or a Cloud PC with cloud-based OS, depending on which is the right tool for the job.
According to a welcome document written by Microsoft, Windows 365 Cloud PC allows you to:
- Procure, provision, and deploy in minutes, with automated OS updates.
- Offer users anywhere access to their personalized Windows desktop experience.
- Tailor compute and configurations for an elastic workforce.
- Pick up where you left off on the device of your choice.
- Optimize experiences on Windows endpoints.
- Scale confidently with per-user pricing.
Windows 365 was designed for companies and businesses of all sizes that require safe and flexible hybrid work solutions for elastic workforces, remote or distributed employees. It supports specialized workloads with agile computing and storage abilities and is accessible on any particular device. Windows 365 is available in two editions: Windows 365 Business and Windows 365 Enterprise.
- Windows 365 Enterprise: This edition is intended for larger organizations that must deploy Cloud PCs across the corporation with no seat limit. Clients can provision and manage Cloud PCs utilizing a fully integrated Microsoft Endpoint Manager. Windows 365 Enterprise stipulates that each user be licensed with a Windows 10 Pro subscription, Microsoft Endpoint Manager, and Azure Active Directory P1, which is included in Microsoft 365 F3, Microsoft 365 E3, Microsoft 365 E5, Microsoft 365 A3, Microsoft 365 A5, Microsoft 365 Business Premium, and Microsoft 365 Education Student Use Benefit subscriptions.
- Windows 365 Business: This edition is intended for users who wish to deploy Cloud PCs for up to (but no more than) 300 seats across the company. Windows 365 represents an innovative way to experience Windows 10 – or Windows 11 when it becomes available later this year – for all types of users, from partners and contractors to software developers and designers. The operating system goes to the Microsoft Cloud, securely streaming the full Windows experience to personal or corporate devices. This strategy creates a new personal computing category: the Cloud PC. The Cloud PC offers a powerful, easy, and secure Windows 10 experience that you can utilize to empower your workforce, regardless of location or device.
To learn more about deploying the advantages of Windows 365 PC at your organization, we invite you to call Alliance IT. Our team of IT professionals has been assisting clients with cloud computing, Azure desktop implementation, and Windows 365 deployment – and we are currently rolling out Windows 365 Cloud PC services to clients of all sizes. Call today for a consultation and learn how this new brand of hybrid service can help you create a more dynamic, secure, and agile network for your employees.
