Microsoft unveiled a bounty of upgrades for Windows 11 lately, which has been positioned as the operating system of the hybrid working era. The additions included a new-look File Explorer, improved video conferencing facilities and various security upgrades. However, implicit in some of the announcements were also clues as to how the company might shape its future operating systems. And if the rumors are to be believed, Microsoft has already started work on Windows 12. The focus of the Windows 11 roadmap on enhanced mobility and the renewed emphasis on Windows 365, the company’s PC-as-a-Service offering, suggest the future of Windows lies firmly in the cloud, particularly in a business context.
Head in the clouds
In a world in which connectivity is becoming increasingly ubiquitous, it’s not outside the realms of possibility that Windows 12 could become Microsoft’s first ever cloud-only operating system, hosted off-device and bundled with compute and storage as part of a subscription package. The system would be similar in many ways to traditional virtual desktop setups, which have been deployed by businesses for years to support BYOD scenarios, but offer simplified pricing and configuration structures and extend out to a wider audience that includes the consumer. Certainly, Microsoft is already interested in shifting towards a hybrid arrangement. Speaking at the event earlier this week, CEO Satya Nadella announced that “the boundaries between the PC and the cloud are fading away”. At the moment, the idea is to streamline the transition between local and Windows 365 desktops, such that users are unable to tell whether their apps, compute and storage are coming from the cloud or their machine. But the logical next step might be to take the whole lot into the cloud, à la Chrome OS. Microsoft has already announced it will allow Windows 365 customers to boot directly into their cloud desktop, bypassing the local OS, which feels only one step short of the cloud-only vision. In a business setting, moving to a cloud-only system would give IT administrators tighter control over security configuration and identity management, and full oversight of how devices are being used. But in a broader context, shifting to a cloud setup is more about enabling new models of consumption. Windows 365 is marketed as a service that provides professionals with unrivaled flexibility, in terms of the location and device they work from, but also the resources available to them. There are currently twelve separate Cloud PC configurations, each of which offers a different amount of resources, and customers can switch between the tiers at any time.
Read a lot more on our special dedicated Windows 12 Board here
Read more: Windows 12: Microsoft’s first cloud-based operating system?