Windows 365 for Hybrid Work Scenarios
With the advent of remote working beginning to transform into the era of hybrid work, it is clear that businesses will need to adopt new solutions to enable a hybrid workplace for their employees. Hybrid work refers to the practice of having some employees working in the office, and other employees working from home, or remotely; there may also be employees who split their time between working from home and in the office. There has been a huge rise in the number of Outsourced IT Support Solutions that companies can employ now to make this easier for them. This new approach to work is already catching on, but promises to become even more widespread, and may change the way we work forever.
Microsoft have announced a range of new products that promise to shake up the world of work. One of the most interesting new services they have announced is Windows 365. For anyone familiar with the Windows desktop operating system, and the more recent Microsoft 365 brand of services, you might be able to guess what this new product is.
For those of you that do not know, Windows 365 is the new perpetual desktop-as-a-service offering from Microsoft. If your company uses London IT Services or Support, speak to them about Windows 365 and its benefits. Desktop-as-a-service is a recent invention, and refers to the delivery of virtual apps, and a virtual desktop interface that is entirely cloud native – this means that it is stored entirely in the cloud, not on a user’s machine; however, the user can connect to the desktop in the cloud and use it the same as if it were installed on their computer.
In fact, Microsoft already have a product like this, known as Azure Virtual Desktop (formerly Windows Virtual Desktop), and it works very much the same way. The only difference is that AVD requires a lot of manual set up, whereas Windows 365 is very much a pay and play service – meaning you simply need to purchase a license for Windows 365 and instantly have access to it, with minimal setup.
So, how does Windows 365 relate to Hybrid working? You could say that it is the perfect solution for hybrid work. Microsoft has several massive datacenters across the world, which essentially contain thousands upon thousands of computers all wired together, working to stored data and deliver services to customers around the world. These datacenters are where Windows 365 runs from, and is what users will connect to.
Windows 365 works by providing a Cloud PC for users. A Cloud PC is essentially a virtual desktop located in one of Microsoft’s datacenters, and it is allocated a portion of the storage, RAM and processing power from the datacenter. There are many Accounting companies using IT Support for Accountants Solutions which make use of this kind of technology and tools. Depending on what the customer needs to do for their work, they can purchase a Cloud PC with less or more storage, RAM, and processing power – if they are just working with documents or spreadsheets, they can use a cheaper Cloud PC; but if they will be doing complex graphic design and 3D modelling, or responsible for critical IT infrastructure, they can access a more powerful Cloud PC at a higher price.
This is a very cost effective way of equipping users with machines that are powerful enough to manage whatever work they need to be performing. The best part is that, because it is based in the Cloud, these Cloud PCs can be accessed anywhere, on any computer. The power of the physical computer one is using makes no difference on the performance of the Cloud PC, you could be using a cheap notebook to access a Cloud PC that has the capability of running high performance workloads.
This is ideal for hybrid working, because companies can equip their users with computers that they don’t have to carry to and from work. They can be accessed securely at home on a personal laptop without any security risks, and it can be accessed at work from any computer.