Where next for Windows 365?
Microsoft have become synonymous with Artificial Intelligence thanks to Copilot. There’s a Copilot in Microsoft 365, in Windows, in Azure, on Android, on iOS. It’s available in the cloud and on any device. With the brand-new Copilot+ PC, Copilot is in your hands without the need for a stable internet connection, because of a Small Language Model and a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) built into the device. There is another Microsoft technology, which has been waiting patiently for the same love – Windows 365.
What is Windows 365?
Once upon a time, Windows 365 was dubbed The Future of Windows. Maybe one day it will be. Windows 365 is a Cloud PC you can stream to any device. Imagine everything that makes up your computer, your desktop, apps, files and more – streamed. Your desktop experience on a phone, tablet, laptop or desktop of your choosing. Today, you can buy a specific build that includes a Virtual Central Processing Unit (vCPU), Random Access Memory (RAM), and a storage device for saving data. You can sign up to be in a Preview for a Graphical Processing Unit (GPU) add-on so you can stream graphically intensive software on a Windows 365 Cloud PC. To me, that’s like streaming my gaming PC – which Google Stadia was so close to accomplishing before the plug was, figuratively and literally, pulled.
What makes Windows 365 different?
Windows 365 is not a managed experience like anything an IT administrator would expect considering this is virtual. It’s not a Virtual Desktop Experience
Why could Windows 365 be the future of Windows?
Windows 365 + Copilot creates some interesting ideas. Right now, we can select the Windows 365 Cloud PC configuration
Secondly, vGPUs are not widespread with Windows 365 prompting the question: What would happen if we added a Virtual Neural Processing Unit (vNPU)? As we know, a Copilot+ PC has a recommended requirement of 40 Trillion Operations per Second (TOPS). With a vNPU, this could well exceed 40 TOPS, taking workloads off the vCPU, potentially reducing demand for a vGPU all while being highly sustainable. Users with higher demands of AI can use Windows 365 as their most powerful resource.
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There is a big piece to this puzzle we haven’t talked about yet. Sustainability. Electronic waste and malpractice when it comes to machine usage
In 2025, Microsoft are committed to running Windows 365 in 100% renewable energy-based datacentres. Effectively the upfront Capex cost an end user or organisation could pay in future is for a thin client used for accessing and using a Cloud PC. The thin client need only be secure and handle an Operating System and is far cheaper than today’s ever increasing hardware prices. The Operating Expenditure cost
Finally, Windows 365 may come to the consumer market which brings the idea of a Cloud PC to the masses. The days when we would have a "family PC" that sits in a room in the house, would have a new lease of life. I'd be very interested to see if this is on the cards for Windows 365!
What our future could look like?
Put simply, a device that adapts to its surroundings, always connected and streaming our desktop content
Let me know what you think lies ahead if Microsoft continue to invest in this space!
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Design & implements secure Intune/MDM/BYOD, secure smartphones/tablets, lower the carbon footprint of your end user device estates, re-purposing laptops/PC services. Cornwall Ambassador. ??
9 个月Bradley Howe The smartphone can be your computer and Samsung DeX has already been adopted by organisations such as Thales and Scotrail, with other implementations within the Blue Light community - DeX in vehicle is being adopted by more forces in the US, for example. As a solution for Windows 365, a smartphone is ideal - partner it with a cost effective desktop dock or a laptop dock and you have a viable desktop PC or laptop alternative. The former offers a more environmentally friendly, less carbon intensive, lower energy use and electricity cost approach than a dedicated desktop PC that also requires less management and support - after all, you're only supporting one end user device, not two. It's an ideal solution for health - one device can be used on wards with mobile applications for observations, triage, prescription tracking and electronic patient records access and then docked and used on a larger display for Windows apps. Here is a Samsung DeX enabled XCover6 Pro (circa £420.00 on Amazon at the moment) connected to a portable 1080P touchscreen display in a laptop chassis (a lapdock - no CPU, RAM, SSD etc., just a USB-C connected display) consuming Azure Virtual Desktop - the experience is the same with Windows 365.
The Value Add! Microsoft Copilot - Microsoft MVP. Chief Strategist - Microsoft @ Softcat
9 个月I have windows 365. Great to get into a more personal machine from my work laptop, iPhone and iPad where ever I am