Introducing Windows 365 Link
Windows 365 Link is the first Cloud PC device. Connect to your Cloud PC in seconds with a simple sign-in, accessing a familiar Windows Desktop with high-fidelity performance. Windows 365 Link offers seamless setup and streamlined management through Microsoft Intune, ensuring your IT environment is efficiently maintained alongside other PCs.
Optimize your work experience with passwordless authentication, high-performance video conferencing, and support for essential peripherals. Designed with a robust security posture, Windows 365 Link provides data protection with features like Secure Boot and BitLocker encryption.
Jalleen Ringer, Partner GPM for Windows Cloud Endpoints, shows how Windows 365 Link is the ideal choice for secure, scalable, and efficient cloud computing.
Get started in minutes with Windows 365 Link.
Check out how this new Cloud PC device is simple to manage using Microsoft Intune.
Optimized for high-fidelity video conferencing.
Get started with Windows 365 Link — the simple, secure, purpose-built device for Windows 365.
Secure by default.
Windows 365 Link runs a local TPM, Secure Boot, BitLocker drive encryption, Hypervisor Code Integrity, and Microsoft Defender EDR capabilities — as a purpose-built device to connect to Windows 365. Watch here.
Watch our video here:
QUICK LINKS:
00:00 — Windows 365 Link — First Cloud PC device
00:55 — What it’s like to use Windows 365 Link
02:32 — Ports and connectivity
03:18 — Set it up
03:48 — Device management
05:26 — Wrap up
Link References
Check out https://aka.ms/Windows365Link
Unfamiliar with Microsoft Mechanics?
As Microsoft’s official video series for IT, you can watch and share valuable content and demos of current and upcoming tech from the people who build it at Microsoft.
- Subscribe to our YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MicrosoftMechanicsSeries
- Talk with other IT Pros, join us on the Microsoft Tech Community: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-mechanics-blog/bg-p/MicrosoftMechanicsBlog
- Watch or listen from anywhere, subscribe to our podcast: https://microsoftmechanics.libsyn.com/podcast
Keep getting this insider knowledge, join us on social:
- Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MSFTMechanics
- Share knowledge on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/microsoft-mechanics/
- Enjoy us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/msftmechanics/
- Loosen up with us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@msftmechanics
Video Transcript:
-Windows 365 Link is the first Cloud PC device. It’s a purpose-built solution by Microsoft with a small Windows-based OS designed to connect you to Windows 365 in seconds. With a quick sign-in to your Cloud PC, you can securely connect to a familiar Windows desktop in the Microsoft cloud, accessing a responsive high fidelity experience. And Windows 365 Link is simple and straightforward to set up.
-For IT, it brings a more streamlined management experience where it can be managed alongside other PCs, in Microsoft Intune. The device is secure by design, featuring no local admin users, no local data storage, and no local apps. You can’t install or execute any arbitrary software on the device, so you’re protected from malware.
-Security baseline policies are enabled by default. And its security features cannot be disabled. I’ll start by showing you what it’s like to use Windows 365 Link. First, you’ll enter your work email address, and you’re presented with multi-factor passwordless authentication.
-Here we’re using the Microsoft Authenticator mobile app. Then you’re securely authenticated and connected to your Cloud PC all within seconds. And if you have a few apps open from your last session, you can pick up right where you left off. The start menu shows productivity and work apps provisioned by your IT team.
-And with Windows being in the cloud, everything is up to date. We’ve enabled local redirection for web multimedia content such as streaming video. This ensures a smooth, high fidelity experience. And is also optimized for online meetings with Microsoft Teams, providing highly performant video conferencing.
-And while you saw me use passwordless authentication, Windows 365 Link also works with Fido2 security keys and cross-device passkeys. So, you get the experience you would expect from a local PC with all the security and scalability of the Microsoft Cloud, resulting in a no compromise experience.
-And when you sign out of your device, it returns to the sign-in experience. Your data and account information is not stored on Windows 365 Link. So it’s great as a shared use device for hot desking, contact centers, and other scenarios. Windows 365 Link also works with the peripherals you need to be productive.
-You can connect them via USB and Bluetooth 5.3, including your keyboard mouse, webcam, up to two monitors at 4K resolution each, and audio including your headset. Next, let’s take a closer look at the Windows 365 Link device itself, which is compact, fanless, and lightweight by design. On the front panel there’s a USB-A port and an audio jack for easy day-to-day access.
-The back panel includes two USB-A ports and one USB-C port, wired ethernet, and the power connector. It also includes a full size HDMI and display port. And on the side, there’s a slot for a Kensington Lock to physically secure the device. Its dimensions are 120 millimeters square and it’s 30 millimeters thick.
-Importantly, Windows 365 Link is designed with sustainability in mind. It’s made with recycled materials and is Energy Star certified to help reduce your carbon footprint. So, now let me show you how easy Windows 365 Link is to set up for the first time. You power on your device, connect to the internet via Wi-Fi, where we support Wi-Fi 6E. And of course you can also connect via ethernet.
-Then you’ll sign in with your work account and authenticate. And at that point, your device then joins your organization’s Microsoft Entra Directory, and enrolls automatically into your Microsoft Intune environment. And just like that, your device connects you to your Cloud PC. But it’s not just using the device that is simple. We also simplified and streamlined management.
-From Microsoft Intune, you’ll be able to view Windows 365 Link devices alongside your other managed Windows devices and Cloud PCs. These will have a default name that starts with WCPC. And you can click in to access device details and specific management operations for each Windows 365 Link device. You can create configuration policies just like you would for any Windows 11 PC.
-And because the small OS is purpose-built for connecting to the cloud, there are far fewer policies that apply to Windows 365 Link. For example, you can create a policy for blocking removable media, so that people can’t copy data from their Cloud PC to a USB drive. This helps ensure that all your corporate data stays protected in the cloud.
-And to further protect your data and users, Windows 365 Link is designed for security from the ground up. It’s configured with a high security posture by default that leverages a discreet trusted platform module, Secure Boot, BitLocker drive encryption, Hypervisor code integrity, and Microsoft Defender Endpoint Detection and Response capabilities. And with strict code integrity policies in place, only the software that comes on the device can run on the device.
-By default, device updates are delivered automatically and applied overnight when the device is not in use. So overall, the management overhead for Windows 365 Link is much lighter compared to other device types. And again, its security-first design significantly reduces its attack surface.
-So, that’s a quick look at Windows 365 Link, the first cloud PC device purpose built by Microsoft to securely connect you to Windows 365 in seconds. To learn more, check out aka.ms/Windows365Link. And keep watching Microsoft Mechanics for the latest tech updates. Subscribe for more and thanks for watching.
