Welcome to the Windows 365 Tech Community!
Published Jul 14 2021 08:00 AM 14K Views

As you've hopefully heard by now, this morning we announced the introduction of a new service that takes the venerable Windows operating system to the Microsoft cloud. I'm proud to introduce you to Windows 365, and to the new Tech Community we've created for it.

Windows 365 streams a full, personalized Windows experience to end users–including their apps, content, and settings–to any device. Unlike traditional virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), it does this by leveraging the same skills and tools you already use to deploy and manage physical PCs, at a predictable per-user, per-month price. Windows 365 delivers a Windows 10 or Windows 11 (when generally available) personalized desktop experience that is fully integrated with Microsoft 365.   

Windows 365 delivers a new class of hybrid personal computing we call Cloud PC, as it is distinctly different from traditional solutions in the end-user experience and the admin experience. The bar we set for this service was to emulate the experience users have with traditional PCs and the management experience and tools admins use today. 

Windows 365 Enterprise is built on top of Microsoft Endpoint Manager to enable endpoint admins to manage Cloud PCs using the same workflows and tools they use today with traditional PCs. Windows 365 Business provides a new opportunity for you to leverage virtualization as there is no requirement for backend infrastructure and supports native Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) Join. This significantly reduces the overhead and enables cost effective solutions that can scale to the smallest organizations.

In the weeks to come, we'll tell you all about how you can deploy Cloud PCs, both from the Windows 365 web portal and from right within Microsoft Endpoint Manager admin center, using the same skills and techniques you use for physical PCs today. We'll also share guidance on how to quickly set up Azure networking to deliver unparalleled network performance and security to end users regardless of how they're connected to the Internet. We'll walk you through our new Watchdog service and show how it vastly simplifies setup, troubleshooting and problem alerts. And, we'll demonstrate how the integration with Endpoint analytics provides with you with actionable insights on your Cloud PCs just as it does with physical PCs. And this is just the beginning.

So let's get started. I encourage you to dive into our initial set of resources—all designed to help you get a better understanding of Windows 365 and Cloud PCs.

First, we are kicking things off with the ever-popular Microsoft Mechanics series. Join host Jeremy Chapman and myself for a detailed overview of Windows 365. Walk through both the experience for the IT admin (e.g., setup, license assignment, Cloud PC deployment, configuration, management, and troubleshooting) and the end user experience within the Cloud PC itself.

Second, Windows 365 Product Manager Christiaan Brinkhoff has written a detailed post on how to Get started with Windows 365 aimed at IT pros. This is a detailed end-to-end overview of the admin experience for Windows 365 Enterprise designed to give you a good idea of what it's like to actually use the product in advance of general availability on August 2, 2021. Look for a deeper dive with Christiaan on Microsoft Mechanics on August 2nd.

Third, don't forget to mark your calendars to join us for the Windows 365 Ask Microsoft Anything (AMA) event at Tech Community Live: Windows Edition on July 21st. This will be a great chance to get answers to your questions on Windows 365 directly from the product team!

Finally, we invite you to become an active participant in the Windows 365 Tech Community. In addition to keeping you abreast of new and upcoming features and capabilities, we'll be continuously sharing product information for IT pros, with overviews and deeper dives into specific areas of the product from feature PMs and engineers. In the coming weeks, you'll find posts covering deployment of Cloud PCs, security, networking, support, management of Cloud PCs and more. We encourage you to participate in Windows 365 discussions, and to submit ideas on the new feature request board in the Windows Community.   

We're excited about what this product can do for end users and organizations. We think it's truly a game changer that represents a paradigm shift in end user computing. We're looking forward to proving that to you in the coming months and years. Welcome to Windows 365 and your new Cloud PC!

 

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