Microsoft Windows 365 doesn’t make much sense

After the office and Xbox, Microsoft went ahead and put Windows in the cloud. With the Windows 365 service, businesses will be able to stream Windows devices directly from Microsoft’s servers—like Netflix, but for your work computer.

Unlike a server farm, these will be individual instances of Windows machines, operating with a single, customizable set of applications and user data. which can be streamed to any device (including phones and tablets). If your internet connection can stream a movie, it can stream Windows as well.

What comes with Windows 365 Cloud PC?

With Windows 365, companies can create accounts for up to 300 users, each with their own Windows PC instance (Windows 10 for now and Windows 11 when released). Packages start at $ 24 per user by month ($ 20 if you have a Windows 10 license under the Windows Hybrid Advantage Plan) for a single-core virtual processor, 2GB of RAM, and 64GB of storage. Dual-core virtual processor plan with 4GB of storage and 64GB of storage starts at $ 32 per user by month.

And the prices go up quickly from there. The high-end eight-core virtual processor with 32GB of RAM and 512GB of storage will set you back $ 162 per user by month.

Having said that, Windows 365 is a pretty unique service. While there are third-party services that let you run Windows on their data centers, no one offers a built-in experience like Microsoft does. Here, the account administrator does not need to do a lot to set up a user with Windows 365 — aAll they need to do is log into the administration interface, create an instance, assign it to a user, customize it according to the needs of the business, and voila. Windows 365 will then take care of installing and creating the instance, updating the software, installing operating system updates, and fixing security issues.

While the asking rate of $ 32 / month might seem high, here’s what a Windows 365 subscription gives you:

• Software updates: Automatic and secure installation of software updates, including security patches.
• No configuration: You won’t need an entire IT team to configure, monitor, and update devices. Microsoft will do this for every instance in the background.
• Really fast internet connection: Internet connection in Microsoft data centers is very fast. Things like downloading files and updates will happen in an instant.
• A state everywhere: Windows 365 will run in any browser on any device. In addition, there are dedicated Microsoft Remote Desktop apps for iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac, and Windows. And regardless of the device from which to access Windows 365, the computer will be in the same state, with the same data.
• Easily expandable: Windows 365 can evolve with the demands of your business. You can start with the basic configuration and as your needs change you can increase RAM, number of cores, or storage.

Should you pay for Windows 365 Cloud PC?

This brings us to the question: Who is it for ? It is not for consumers, nor for independent professions. Microsoft only offers this service to business and enterprise customers, and theven if you are talking about professional users, there is a very narrow set of uses case he would be a perfect fit.

First of all, the service only supports 300 users, so large organizations are absent. The same is the case if a company wishes to host / control its own instance of Windows; IThis just isn’t possible in Windows 365. Ultimately, Windows 365 is for businesses that value a seamless experience with little overhead, over everything else.

If you run a business with a few dozen employees, in a distributed team, but still want to control the Windows experience yourself for all users (without a large IT team), this may be a good idea for you. . You can get away with offering cheap laptops because the whole Windows experience will now run in the cloud. That is, if you don’t mind the $ 30-40 per user by monthly fee.

Cheaper alternatives to Windows 365

The scenario we described above is quite narrow — aAnd even that is not exactly profitable. If you take a three-year deadline, the basic dual-core plan will set you back $ 1,152 in total, per user. You can get a decent midrange laptop from Dell for, say, $ 500 (or cheaper if you opt for a reconditioned modethe).

If you really need to provide remote desktop functionality to your employees, a Any office subscription costs $ 9.99 per months per user. Need to control the whole experience? Microsoft’s own Azure Virtual Desktop will allow you to create and host custom Windows 10 cloud PCs. Like all business decisions, this one could well to come up to cost. Before you make a decision, do the math to see if it’s the best choice for you.