A new era of hybrid personal computing is here: say hello to Windows 365! Launched in summer 2021, it became so instantly popular Microsoft had to temporarily pause free trials due to demand.
The good news is it’s now available at Exertis Cloud. But what is Windows 365? How is it different to Office 365? And why do I think it’s worth shouting about? Let’s tackle those questions and more!
How do we currently sell Office 365?
We’ve all changed our behaviour over the last few years when it comes to selling Office 365 and Microsoft 365. I’m sure many of you have just grown accustomed to Office 365 being sold as a monthly consumption cost, or cost-per-user, rather than the once very popular one-time sale.
This reflects a general shift to subscription models. People are now much more comfortable managing their finances flexibly based on their real-time usage. This monthly consumption of Microsoft is also called Software as a Service. Or ‘SaaS’ for those that like an acronym.
What is Windows 365?
Microsoft have now evolved this Saas to the next level in the form of Windows 365 (W365). This Platform as a Service (otherwise known as, you guessed it, PaaS), is a subscription service that gives you a Windows operating system in the Microsoft Azure Cloud. This is known as a ‘Cloud PC’
You might be thinking: “wait a minute, how is this new? VDI has been around for years!”. Of course, you’re right, Virtual Desktop Infrastructures have been around a while. But what IS different about Windows 365, is you no longer have to be an absolute computer genius or IT whizz to make it work.
How does Windows 365 help your customers?
Microsoft’s strapline for their Cloud PC is: ‘Work from anywhere from any device’. I think this sums it up perfectly and helps us all understand the solution that Windows 365 gives us. It’s easy to picture how an organisation can now manage the IT of a range of users across their business.
Imagine (or maybe you already are!) you’re an IT admin within a company. You have five new starters coming in a few days. There would normally be a lengthy process of asset setup, logistics, security, and the obvious concern of making sure the new people don’t break your equipment!
Now imagine instead of this process you simply selected a machine profile (from entry level to super powerful) and ‘allocating’ it to their own profile like you would a 365 license. Add a pay-monthly mechanism, and voila! You have a flexible ‘start up’ process and initial costs to get them going.
What editions of Windows 365 are there?
You may now be wondering: what are the different options and plans I can choose when buying Windows 365? I’ll keep it simple, there are two, ‘Business’ and ‘Enterprise’. ‘Business’ will suit most SMBs, with up to about 300 users, and Enterprise for higher-end scenarios.
Something extra to think about: you also get a discount if you’re using the ‘Hybrid Benefit’, or a Windows 10 Pro device. That’s really handy if you already have a Windows 10 Pro device, but it’s by no means essential to use Windows 365 in the first place.
What’s the speed and security of Windows 365?
You can log into Windows 365 from Windows, iOS, Android and Linux machines (or any device supporting HTML5 or newer). You should have no bandwidth issues, as long as you normally have no problem streaming a film from the internet.
The whole point of cloud computing is that you’re not constantly uploading and downloading data to your device. This keeps all the data in one place. This in turn makes the better data security you get with Windows 365 one of its biggest selling points when you’re talking to customers.
What devices can you use with Windows 365?
Remember the strapline ‘Work from anywhere from any device’? It’s true! This is why I think it’s such a game changing service for businesses. And with staff using their own device instead of one of your own high-end devices or desktops, it will save businesses money on hardware rollouts.
Don’t forget Windows 10 Home devices! Getting Windows 10 Pro devices has been more challenging over the last 18 months, so why not get the Windows 10 Home version and simply buy the upgrade license (just over £40), available through CSP as a perpetual license so it’s ‘buy once then job done’!
How much does Windows 365 cost?
Hopefully you’re more than a little intrigued by Window 365’s potential and want to know more! Pricing starts at under £20 a month, which makes the entry point very wallet-friendly for businesses. We also have full pricing details available to our customers, just click on the W365 portal tile.
Want to talk to us about Windows 365?
Click here and fill out the quick enquiry form at the bottom of the page and we’ll come right back to you to set up a call to go through all the finer details. Or mail us directly.
Still want to know more before you get started selling Windows 365 to your customers? Click on one of the links below to learn more.