The day has finally arrived: Microsoft Windows 365 Cloud PC is now publicly available and…
“Oh my God, Steven! Have you seen how much it costs?!?”
Yes I have. This is what….
“That’s very expensive!”
Actually no. And before you interrupt me again, let me explain what happened with Windows 365.
First, as promised, Microsoft this week published the pricing of Windows 365. Starting at $20 per user, per month for low-end SKUs. With that, you get one vCPU (Virtual CPU) running on Azure Cloud, 2GB RAM and 64GB OneDrive cloud storage. Prices go up from there, depending on configuration, to $163 per user, per month. That gets you 8 vCPU, 32GB RAM, and 512GB OneDrive storage.
Low-end pricing on all levels requires you to use Windows Hybrid Benefit. This is Microsoft’s “bring-your-own-licence” model, which allows you to apply existing or new licenses to the cost of the product. Without the Hybrid Benefit discount, all SKU prices are $4 higher per user, per month.
For that, according to Microsoft, you get:
- Ability to purchase, provision and deploy in minutes, with automatic OS updates.
- Anywhere access for users to a personalized Windows desktop experience.
- Tailored configuration for an elastic workforce.
- The ability to continue where you left off on the device of your choice.
- Optimized experience on Windows endpoints.
- The ability to scale confidently at a per-user price.
This means, for example, that you can run Windows 365 on your work PC, pick it up again on your Mac at home, and if you really want to, view sales forecasts on your Android tablet when you can’t sleep at night.
There are two versions. One, Windows 365 Business, designed for small businesses looking to use a cloud PC for 300 seats or less. There are no technological prerequisites; You can simply open the Windows 365 cloud portal to purchase, deploy, and manage your Cloud PC at any time.
This is the “idiot proof” version. You don’t need an Azure subscription or an Active Directory (AD) domain controller. Everything, and I mean everything, works with Azure AD and Microsoft manages it all. Just pay your money, provide your hardware using the defaults, and you’re good to go.
If you want more control and features, you’ll want Windows 365 Enterprise, which gives IT people more control over what happens with your Windows instances. It doesn’t give you as much control as Azure Virtual Desktop, but it’s also simpler and, in general, less expensive.
You can of course use any of these in sync with Office 365 or other Microsoft cloud offerings. But, and this is important, Microsoft says you can use it to access your Windows 10 apps remotely. Install them virtually and go.
In theory, there would be no fuss or fuss. In practice, I’m pretty sure you’ll run into problems because, you know, Windows is Windows, and what is Windows without compatibility issues? Having said that, I expect most popular business programs, such as QuickBooks and Adobe Creative Suite, to run on Windows 365. (Otherwise, Microsoft would hear it plainly; they would do it right.)
However, one thing you shouldn’t do is very intense data processing on Windows 365 systems. The Windows 365 Business plan comes with a data limit for upstream traffic of 20 GB per user per month on the lower end and up to 70 GB per user per month in the upper class. Note: I said “upstream”, not down. The only way you might run into trouble here is if you’re trying to edit a video on a cloud-based video.
Now, let’s talk about those costs. First, if you think the price is high, you haven’t done much with cloud computing. By cloud computing standards, it’s cheap. And the good news is they are fixed prices; You don’t pay by the hour or how many resources you use. I guarantee you’ll find this cheaper than most, if not all, Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS) offerings.
Some people mock Windows 365 on the grounds that they can get more machines for the money than they can by using a Windows 365 virtual machine (VM). Sure, you can buy, say, PC World’s favorite HP Envy 14 laptop for $1,150 with an Intel processor. i5, 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD. A Windows 365 instance which is roughly equivalent to 2 vCPUs, 8 GB RAM and 256 GB cloud storage will cost you $54 per month without the Hybrid Benefit discount.
But let’s do a little business math. Usually, you keep the PC for three years, so at a glance, the HP machine wins easily as it only costs $1,150 (compared to $1,944, a Windows 365 Cloud PC will cost you over the same period).
Again, this is a business. How much did you pay to support that PC? Can your technician easily and inexpensively help your people work from home? You don’t have to pay anything for Windows 365 support — it’s already there. And basically, Windows 365 is easy to manage remotely.
Windows 365 also won’t incur additional time charges if you need to restore, take a system snapshot, or restore your system. It also comes with built-in Microsoft security Defender software. What if you need to fix that little HP machine? How much does your downtime cost? With Windows 365, who cares if your laptop gets run over by a truck? You just pick up another machine, and you’re back in business.
There are other factors, of course. For example, your accountant will tell you that computer hardware is subject to 100% amortization, while you cannot amortize cloud services. But the bottom line is that for many businesses, Windows 365 will make financial sense.
Do the math and then decide. Don’t just laugh at the prices and continue your journey. You may find that when all is said and done, Windows 365 is exactly what your CFOs and CIOs want — and your employees.