Microsoft unveils Windows 365 — ushering in a new category of computing

Windows 365 will deliver a full, personalized PC experience from the cloud to any device, giving workers and organizations power, simplicity, and security for hybrid work.

SINGAPORE – Media
OutReach – 15 July 2021 – Microsoft
Corporation today announced Windows 365 – a cloud service that introduces a new
way to experience Windows 10 or Windows 11 to businesses of all sizes. Windows
365 takes the operating system to the Microsoft Cloud, streaming the full
Windows experience – apps, data, and settings – to personal or corporate
devices. Secure by design and built with the principles of Zero Trust, Windows
365 secures and stores information in the cloud, not on the device, providing a
secure, productive experience for workers from interns and contractors to software developers
and industrial designers. Windows 365 also creates a new hybrid personal
computing category called Cloud PC, which uses both the power of the cloud and
the capabilities of the device to provide a full, personalized Windows
experience. The announcement represents a groundbreaking development as
organizations around the world grapple with the best ways to facilitate hybrid
work models where employees are both on-site and distributed across the globe.

 

“With Windows 365, we’re creating a new category: the Cloud
PC,” said Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO, Microsoft. “Just like applications
were brought to the cloud with SaaS, we are now bringing the operating system
to the cloud, providing organizations with greater flexibility and a secure way
to empower their workforce to be more productive and connected, regardless of
location.”

 

A new computing paradigm for hybrid work

 

As the pandemic begins to ease in parts of the world, a new
way of working is emerging, transformed by virtual processes and remote
collaboration. In this more distributed environment, employees need access to
corporate resources across locations and devices — and with cybersecurity
threats on the rise, securing those resources is paramount.

 

“Hybrid work has fundamentally changed the role of
technology in organizations today,” said Jared Spataro, corporate vice
president, Microsoft 365. “With workforces more disparate than ever before,
organizations need a new way to deliver a great productivity experience with increased
versatility, simplicity, and security. Cloud PC is an exciting,
new category of hybrid personal computing that turns any device into a
personalized, productive, and secure digital workspace. Today’s
announcement of Windows 365 is just the beginning of what will be possible as
we blur the lines between the device and the cloud.”

 

Windows 365 helps employers solve challenges they’ve faced
since long before the pandemic. Workers expect greater flexibility and more
options to work from different locations, while still ensuring the security of
the organization’s data. Seasonal workers can cycle on and off teams without
the logistical challenges of issuing new hardware or securing personal devices —
allowing the organization to scale for busy periods more efficiently and
securely. And companies can easily ensure specialized workers in creative, analytics,
engineering or scientific roles have greater compute power and secure access to
critical applications that they need.

 

Versatile, simple, secure: the transformational impact of
Windows 365

 

By building on the power of the Windows operating system and
the strength of the cloud, Windows 365 gives any organization greater peace of
mind in three key ways:

• Powerful. With instant-on boot to their
  personal Cloud PC, users can stream all their applications, tools, data, and
  settings from the cloud across any device. Windows 365 provides the full PC
  experience in the cloud. The cloud also provides versatility in processing
  power and storage, enabling IT to scale up or down, based on their needs. With a
  choice of either Windows 10 or Windows 11 (once it is generally available later
  in 2021), organizations can choose the Cloud PC that works for them with
  per-user per-month pricing.
• Simple. With a Cloud PC, users can log in
  and pick back up where they left off across devices, providing a simple and
  familiar Windows experience delivered by the cloud. For IT, Windows 365 also
  simplifies deployment, updates, and management — and unlike other solutions, Windows
  365 doesn’t require any virtualization experience. With Windows 365 optimized
  for the endpoint, IT can easily procure, deploy, and manage Cloud PCs for their
  organization just like they manage physical PCs through Microsoft Endpoint
  Manager. Small and mid-size businesses can purchase Windows 365 directly or
  through a cloud service provider, and set-up their organization with Cloud PCs
  with just a few clicks. Microsoft also continues to innovate in Azure Virtual
  Desktop for those organizations with deep virtualization experience who want
  more customization and flexibility options.
• Secure. Windows 365 is secure by design,
  leveraging the power of the cloud and the principles of Zero Trust. Information
  is secured and stored in the cloud, not on the device. Always up to date and
  building on the strength of rich Microsoft security capabilities and baselines,
  Windows 365 simplifies security and recommends the best security settings for
  the environment at hand.

New opportunities for the Microsoft partner ecosystem

 

For decades, Microsoft partners have been at the center of
how we deliver technologies and business transformation to customers around the
world. The depth of Microsoft’s cloud offerings and technology portfolio gives
partners the power to build innovative, industry-specific solutions. Windows
365 will allow our partners to continue to make more possible.

 

From systems integrators to managed service providers to ISVs
to OEMs, the new Cloud PC category creates opportunity for our partners to
deliver new Windows experiences in the cloud.

 

Organizations will look to systems integrators and managed
service providers to help them get the most out of their entire Windows estate.
ISVs can continue to build Windows apps and now deliver them in the cloud to
help businesses work in new ways as they continue to digitally transform. And original
equipment manufacturers (OEMs) gain an opportunity to integrate Windows 365
into their broad portfolio of services alongside their devices’ robust features
and secure hardware.

 

“To be
their best in a new world of work, employees need workplace technology that’s
familiar, easy to use, secure and always available,” said Veit Siegenheim,
global modern workplace lead, Avanade. “With Windows 365, Microsoft is
capitalizing on the power of the cloud to empower productivity anywhere, across
any device and elevate the workplace experience.”

 

Availability

 

Windows 365 will be generally available to businesses of all
sizes starting on Aug. 2, 2021. You can learn more at https://Microsoft.com/Windows-365.com.

 

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