This is Windows 365, the cloud-based OS you didn't know it existed

Recently, Microsoft launched the Windows 365 Link, and we called it an Apple Mac Mini M4 alternative, and rightfully so. However, I believe that Redmond giant’s point to this launch was not to rival the bitten apple device. In fact, they gently advertised the less known Windows 365, Microsoft’s cloud OS.

If don’t know much about it, don’t worry, because not many seem to have bothered with it too much, although it has been around since 2021. Microsoft didn’t advertise it too much either, having a more B2B approach to communicate about it.

That’s why I wasn’t too surprised to find that the famous leaker phantomofearth recently posted on X exclusive images of Windows CPC (aka NXT).

Well, that is actually Windows 365, and yes, it looks like Windows 11, its online version, anyway.

Windows 365 is a cloud-based Windows 11 like OS

Microsoft created this OS for organizations during the Covid outbreak, when everyone went into hybrid work. The idea behind the OS is that you can access it from a wide range of devices. Instead of carrying a work laptop around, you can go to the office to work, then come home and continue your work from the same online OS in the cloud from your PC, laptop, tablet PC etc.

The advantages of this option are pretty clear. You don’t have to bother with hardware compliance, the OS is inheritably secured by Microsoft, you get to access all your organization’s resources, admins have perfect control over the apps your running within the organization’s managed OS etc. All you need is a Microsoft 365 Business or Enterprise account and a reasonably strong internet connection.

Right now, the most accessible plan is $31 which includes up to 300 users, the desktop versions of Microsoft 365 apps, Outlook, OneDrive and Teams (only for chat and audio calls).

However, the price only includes 2 vCPUs with 4GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage. So, it’s a virtual PC Windows solution you can access from anywhere with a simple login. In fact, we also reported about Microsoft simplifying the login process in Windows 365 with a simple sign-on. Initially, in 2021, it offered Windows 10 and Windows 11 variants but Microsoft dropped the first option for obvious reasons.

Recently, Microsoft also released a promotional one-month-free for Windows 365 Business so you can actually try it right now.

Of course, IT admins can install all the apps and integrations you’re using for work on the virtual machine and even link you to another cloud-based resources of your organization.

Microsoft also announced plans to launch the Windows 365 consumer version, but we still don’t have any news about that potential launch.

Long story short, there is an online cloud-based Windows 11 out there called Windows 365 that was designed for organizations that don’t want to bother to much with hardware resources. However, that’s another reason why not many people know about Windows 365. Organizations were traditionally reluctant about working with cloud-based environments.

Now, the paradigm is switching fast, with Microsoft Azure and other cloud services growing exponentially from year to year. That is also why the Redmond giant is slowly starting to advertise Windows 365.

Now you know basic information about Windows 365 and what you can do with it. If you’re already using it, let us know about your experience in the comments below.