Microsoft introduced Windows 365 last month as a new way to experience Windows 10 and Windows 11, once it's available for the public later this year. The goal is to take the operating system to the cloud, enabling businesses to securely stream "the full Windows experience," including apps, data, and settings to personal and corporate devices.
The company today announced the general availability of its Cloud PC model, with the ability to stream this instant-on boot experience on not only Windows but also Mac, iPad, Android, and Linux. Microsoft said that this model evolves device-based OS to hybrid personalized computing with no additional virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) resources required.
Pick up where you left off, on any device, and experience new opportunities for work and collaboration.
"The Cloud PC draws on the power of the cloud to provide a powerful, simple, and secure full Windows 10 or Windows 11 experience that you can use to empower your workforce, regardless of location or device," the Windows maker writes. "Windows 365 provides an instant-on boot experience that enables users to stream all their personalized applications, tools, data, and settings from the cloud across any device including your Windows, Mac, iPad, Android, and coming soon Linux device."
The Windows experience is consistent, no matter the device. You can pick up right where you left off, because the state of your Cloud PC remains the same, even when you switch devices.
Windows 365 editions
Microsoft currently offers two variants: Windows 365 Business (for organizations with up to 300 employees) and Windows 365 Enterprise (for organizations with more than 300 employees). The Business model is designed for simplicity and ease of usage and doesn't require an Azure subscription or domain controller since everything works with Azure AD natively.
| Windows 365 Business | Windows 365 Enterprise |
|---|---|
| Click –to-provision directly from product page | |
| "No-domain" set up | |
| Self-serve troubleshooting – reset | |
| "Cloud Save" (minimal Azure storage and potentially OneDrive for Business) | "Cloud Save" (minimal Azure storage and potentially OneDrive for Business) |
| Self-serve upgrades | |
| Universal Print integration | |
| Partner/programmatic enablement (Graph APIs, MSP tooling) | |
| Custom images | |
| Image management [store, replicate, deploy] | |
| Microsoft Endpoint Manager policy-driven provisioning, management and guided scenarios | |
| Endpoint analytics reporting and monitoring | |
| Service health, operational health alerts | |
| Connection to on-premises [networks, apps, resources] + diagnostics | |
| Advanced Microsoft Endpoint Manager-based troubleshooting and device management |
More details about Windows 365 Business are available here, and Windows 365 Enterprise in this document.
Windows 365 pricing
For organizations requiring less than 300 seats, Windows 365 Business pricing starts from $20 per user per month for a single virtual core, 2GB of RAM, and 64GB of storage. This goes up to $162.00 user/month with eight virtual cores, 32GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage.
Pricing for Enterprise also starts from $20 per user per month with a single virtual core, 2GB of RAM, and 64GB of storage and goes up to $158 per user per month.
Microsoft's Windows 365 Cloud PC desktop-as-a-service is the company's newest remote desktop offering, building on top of Azure Virtual Desktop. The company intends to revolutionize how we work by enabling organizations to bring employees' data and settings to their devices, regardless of what OS those devices run. The prices are a little on the high end, but it is expected Microsoft will offer volume discounts.
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The post Pricing Details of Windows 365 – Microsoft’s Cloud PC That Streams Your Windows Experience to Android, Macs, & More by Rafia Shaikh appeared first on Wccftech.
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