There’s no denying there was a big shift in working environments in March 2020, with virtual meetings, remote collaboration, and even online social events becoming commonplace. But don’t rest easy just yet: businesses need to gear up for another huge shift as economies start to open up again.
With months of remote working under their belts, the shift in working has also changed priorities for many employees, many desiring at the very least a hybrid working environment. In fact, according to Microsoft’s 2021 Work Trend Index, over 70 percent of workers want flexible remote work options to continue.
In short: the need to work remotely and securely, is not going anywhere.
To prepare, 66 percent of business decision-makers from the same survey are considering redesigning physical spaces to better accommodate hybrid work environments. These plans should also include how to permanently support remote/hybrid work to ensure business continuity and success.
The Future of Computing: Windows 365 Cloud PC
Enter Windows 365 Cloud PC, a cloud service that introduces a new way to experience Windows 10 or Windows 11 (when available), as a fully managed SaaS solution that provides the same great desktop experience as Windows, but without the hassle of managing infrastructure.
This allows everyone, from interns and contractors to software developers and industrial designers, the agency to connect to their apps, data, and settings from any device, be it a Windows PC or an iPad. Users can begin working on a laptop at home, pick it back up on a tablet in the car between appointments, and finish up on their desktop at the office. Windows 365 makes it easier for organizations to scale to meet annual busy periods by eliminating the logistical complexity and security challenges of issuing new hardware to seasonal workers.
Windows 365 supports your business apps—Microsoft 365, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Microsoft Power Platform—line of business apps, and more.
Reduce the hardware management headache
Upon hearing the term “hybrid working,” the first thing that comes to the minds of an IT organization should not be a headache.
Empower your employees in this new world of hybrid work with the power and security of the cloud. Incorporating Windows 365 as a fully managed service is consistent with how you likely manage your physical devices now. Cloud PCs show up right alongside your physical devices in Microsoft Endpoint Manager, and you can apply management and security policies to them just as you do to all your other devices.
This also allows businesses to provide their employees with technology that’s familiar, easy to use, and available across devices, while ensuring that the data being created and shared is safe and secure.
Other benefits include:
- Localize the connections – create network connections in Azure regions closest to where your users are physically located, for the best performance.
- Scalability – the ability to scale up or scale down compute power and storage. Not all users have the same needs, they could be fine on the basic level Cloud PC, and then outgrow it.
- Your cloud PC is abstracted from the device you’re using to access it so as an admin you have full control over the data in the cloud PC, and prevent people from copying data to their local PC.
- Predictable per-user pricing, turn-key to buy and deploy, and no special IT skills required.
Get a preview of the user and admin experience of Cloud PC with this demo and see how your organization can use both the power of the cloud and the capabilities of the device to provide a full, personalized Windows experience.
If you’re interested in empowering your employees in a hybrid and secure environment, then contact one of SMB Suite’s experts!