Windows 365 Frontline Shared Mode

Microsoft announce that there’s a new Shared Mode for Windows 365 Frontline which is now in public preview. The original mode, now called Dedicated Mode, is aimed at users with staggered working hours. It allows you to provision personalised Cloud PCs for up to three users for each Windows 365 Frontline licence as long as those Cloud PCs are used non-concurrently. The new mode is for when you want to provision a single Cloud PC which lots of people need to use for short periods on an ad hoc basis, perhaps for a specific task. Only one person can use the Cloud PC at a time, and when they sign out all user data is deleted.

Find the announcement here: https://bit.ly/3CL02aW, the Learn documentation here: https://bit.ly/4fWXKnu, and a Microsoft Mechanics video here: https://bit.ly/3UZNsey.

Windows 365 Link

Microsoft announce that Windows 365 Link is in public preview. This is a purpose-built Cloud PC device that’s designed to connect to Windows 365 in a fast and secure way. It’s built by Microsoft and will be available in April 2025 at a cost of $349. It will work with Windows 365 Enterprise, Frontline and Business editions.

Find the announcement here: https://bit.ly/4eMkS7u, the Learn documentation here: https://bit.ly/3APLhDg, and a Microsoft Mechanics video here: https://bit.ly/3CNH8jG.

HP Anyware for Windows 365

Microsoft announce the general availability of HP Anyware for Windows 365 for organisations that want to integrate HP Anyware digital workspaces with Windows 365 Cloud PCs. From a licensing perspective you need both a Windows 365 Enterprise licence and an HP Anyware licence.

Resources-wise, find the announcement here: https://bit.ly/3BRTiYy, an overview datasheet here: https://bit.ly/3A63vQE, and a video showing some of the benefits and the setup process here: https://bit.ly/48jz99K.

Windows 365 Cross Region Disaster Recovery Add-on

Microsoft announce a business continuity service for Windows 365 to protect against regional outages. When activated, the service creates temporary copies of users’ Cloud PCs in alternative geographical regions, preserving installed applications, user settings, and data. The Windows 365 Cross Region Disaster Recovery Add-On license costs $5 per user per month and is currently only available for Windows 365 Enterprise users.

Find the announcement here: https://bit.ly/3LJfyFB, and the Learn documentation here: https://bit.ly/46HK1hf.

Licensing Brief for virtual desktops

There’s an updated (March 2023) Licensing Brief to explain the options for virtualising Windows 11 and remotely accessing it. Changes include the addition of Windows 365 and the Flexible Virtualization Benefit. Overall, it’s a good summary of the licences you need for each of the different virtualisation options, and you can find this updated Licensing Brief here: http://bit.ly/3Jm6fv4.

Windows 365 Cloud PC

Microsoft announce Windows 365 Cloud PC, which will securely stream the whole Windows experience, including apps and data, to any device. Windows 365 will be available from 2 August, 2021 and be licensed via per user per month pricing, with a choice of two editions: Business and Enterprise.

Find the announcement here: https://bit.ly/3kfTg1Q.