Cloud PCs: The dawn of Windows 365
Microsoft announced the introduction of Windows 365 on the 14th July 2021, “a full, personalized PC experience from the cloud” and part of the next generation of Windows!
What are they talking about?!
Consider your normal Windows 10 (or soon 11) desktop, now imagine you could go to any computer, open a web browser, then you login into your desktop and it’s there! This is what Microsoft are offering with Windows 365, instead of having a PC that has Windows 10 or 11 installed, all you will need is a browser. It means it doesn’t matter what your computer is running as long as it can get on t’internet.
Who’s it for?
Launched on the 2nd August 2021, this service will only be available to businesses via a monthly per-user subscription cost, but it doesn’t matter if you are a one-man band or an organisation with thousands of employees.
Should I get Windows 365?
The pandemic has created the opportunity for hybrid working and Windows 365 is part of the solution to make it that much easier. Windows 365 provides:
- Your desktop
- Your apps
- Your content
- Your settings
All delivered via an enterprise grade security and identity management system built and managed by Microsoft along with its expertise and bank balance!
Windows 365 can be accessed via any internet enabled device. You could login via a desktop in the office, logout and then login via an iPad at home, and everything’s exactly how you left it!
What’s really powerful is that you don’t need the best internet connection in the world. A Microsoft example shows them using a 20mbps internet connection, but once logged in to their virtual desktop, a speed test shows that it gets 9,993 mbps download speed! How many of us are home constantly getting frustrated by our internet speed! This allows you to work on and share varying file sizes with no problems.
Microsoft are offering multiple specification levels:
- 2GB ram, with 64GB storage
- 4GB ram, with 64GB, 128GB or 256GB storage
- 8GB ram, with 128GB, 256GB storage
- 16GB ram, with 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB storage
- 32GB ram, with 128GB, 256GB or 512GB storage
The varying levels mean you can get the best value for the needs of the individual, e.g. if you are mainly a Word, PowerPoint or Excel user you may not need more than 4GB of ram, or you might be a heavy app user so you can select more ram. Whatever the case, the great thing is that you don’t need to think about your device as much as you used to. At the moment if you need more storage or ram, you physically have to replace the device or crack it open and replace parts. With Windows 365 its a case of ticking a box and away you go!
Whether you should get it right now is still up for debate, I mean, it was only launched on the 2nd August ?. From what we can see it looks to be quite an exciting proposition, so watch this space, let Microsoft work out any kinks, but keep it on your radar.
