Microsoft presents Windows 365

With Windows 365, Microsoft is entering cloud computing and wants to rent out virtual computers. The strength of the new solution is said to lie in the combination of a classic local operating system with worldwide accessibility.

A new business model

Until now, Microsoft has only sold licenses of its operating systems, which are then installed and used locally. With Windows 365, that is set to change: Microsoft wants to offer entire computers that are located in data centers and are to be made accessible via a cloud. This concept is not new – there are already some providers of such solutions, which provide powerful setups for gaming or video editing, for example, which are supposed to guarantee good results even with poor local equipment. Microsoft itself is already active in this area: With Azure Virtual Desktop, virtual Windows machines are already available for rent. However, the offer has hardly found favor so far because it relies on a complicated interface and an unattractive price structure.

With the new model, Microsoft wants to continue to address mainly companies, but with simplified operation, easier accessibility and a different pricing model, it also wants to appeal to smaller companies that no longer want to rely on purely locally restricted working environments in the context of the pandemic or due to the digitalization of the working world in general.

One PC on many end devices

The model here is relatively simple: companies can rent a PC located in the data center with assured resources that is available around the clock and can be accessed from a wide variety of end devices. This is clearly illustrated in the Microsoft promotional video: the rented PC can be controlled from a desktop PC as well as from a tablet or laptop. This is possible because all applications are installed exclusively on the cloud PC, but not on the locally used end devices. Which device is used thus becomes largely irrelevant. This is particularly advantageous for companies that want to allow employees to use their own devices without having to store data on them. This makes work more flexible, and the devices used do not have to meet any special performance requirements.

The connection is established via the Internet – an Internet connection and an up-to-date browser are therefore the only requirements for operation. There is nothing new about this concept – it has already been offered in exactly this form many times. However, Microsoft is now apparently aiming to establish it on a broad scale. This is also indicated by the fact that Microsoft sees an additional relevant field of activity for partner companies in the new application.

Start in August

The service will launch on August 2 with Windows 10. Windows 11 will be available toward the end of the year. Questions about the technical infrastructure will not be answered until the market launch, as Microsoft does not provide any details on this and no beta phase is planned.