Microsoft to Preview Windows 365 Cloud PC, Slash Marketplace Fees at Inspire
Microsoft will also introduce Cloud for Sustainability at the annual partner event.
July 14, 2021
![Microsoft cross devices cloud Microsoft cross devices cloud](https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt10e444bce2d36aa8/blt72225b0f79d0939e/65244cc0ea744f413572384e/00-opener-IMAGE_Cross-devices-1.jpg?width=700&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale)
Microsoft
Think of Azure Virtual Desktop, until recently known as Windows Virtual Desktop, on a broader scale. Wangui McKelvey, general manager for Microsoft 365, describes Windows 365 Cloud PC as a service for hybrid personal computing.
“Windows 365 takes the operating system to the Microsoft Cloud, securely streaming the full Windows experience – including all your apps, data and settings – to your personal or corporate devices,” McKelvey explained in a blog announcing the service. “This approach creates a fully new personal computing category, specifically for the hybrid world: the Cloud PC.”
The new Windows 365 will let users log on to their desktop environment from any PC or mobile device. Settings and data stream to the device once the user authenticates. The work environment will stay the same when switching from one device to another.
Microsoft is planning to offer the new Dynamics 365 + Microsoft Teams experience, announced at the Ignite conference in March, for no additional licensing fee. The integration of Microsoft Teams with Dynamics 365 will enable users to view and edit Dynamics 365 records within a Teams workflow. Dynamics 365 users will be able to add Teams Meetings to appointments.
The integration of Teams with Dynamics 365 is an example of what Microsoft now calls “collaborative apps.” Microsoft is revealing it has partnered with ISVs to create similar types of collaborative apps. The ISVs announced include Atlassian (Confluence), SAP (C4C), Salesforce, ServiceNow and Workday.
“All these integrations bring structured business processes and data together into the context of collaborative work,” according to a post co-authored by corporate VPs Jared Spataro and Alysa Taylor.
At last month’s Windows 11 reveal, the company said it was reducing the revenue-sharing fees developers pay to sell their Windows apps via the online Microsoft Store. Now Microsoft is also slashing the fees associated with its commercial marketplace. Effective immediately, immediately the fees are down from 20% to 3%.
“This reduced transaction fee demonstrates our commitment to the success of partners creating value on our platform — and helps partners keep more of their margin to invest in their growth,” according to a post by Charlotte Yarkoni, COO of Microsoft Cloud + AI.
Microsoft is rechristening its Azure Migration Program (AMP) the Azure Migration and Modernization Program (AMMP). Since launching the original AMP two years ago, Microsoft says the program has helped partners migrate thousands of applications to Azure.
The new AMMP brings migration scenarios into the fold, and adds support for Azure Spring Cloud and Azure Cosmos DB.
Microsoft’s App Containerization tool, designed to rapidly containerize and deploy .NET and Java apps onto the Azure Kubernetes Service, will be generally available on July 30. Microsoft is announcing that the App Containerization tool also now supports container deployments to Azure App Service.
Also, Microsoft is announcing that Azure Arc now integrates with Azure Lighthouse, which enables partners to manage resources across edge, data center and in multicloud environments.
Microsoft will enable partners to help their clients measure and gather a full analysis of the carbon emissions their companies emit. The Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability is designed to help establish goals and act on reducing emissions.
“Drawing on the depth and breadth of the entire Microsoft cloud, this new cloud offering is designed to help companies take control of their environmental initiatives, offering a set of comprehensive, integrated and automated insights for organizations to accelerate each stage of their sustainability journey,” according to a post by Althoff. “With Cloud for Sustainability, we’re creating a whole new category, going beyond capturing data to helping customers aggregate sustainability data in an actionable way. It includes SaaS offerings that can discover and connect to real-time data sources, accelerate data integration and reporting, provide accurate carbon accounting, measure performance against goals and enable intelligent insights for organizations to take more effective action.”
Microsoft 365 Lighthouse, the multitenant remote monitoring and management (RMM) tool for managing multiple M365 Business Premium tenants, is now available for public preview. Revealed during last fall’s Microsoft Ignite conference, Lighthouse will enable MSPs to secure devices, data and user accounts. SMB customers are its target. Microsoft is also releasing the preview of Project Orland. It’s an analytics tool designed to let CSPs share recommendations based on collective insights from their respective customers.
Microsoft also released the preview of a new tool for its cloud service provider (CSP) partners, designed to help them offer improved Microsoft 365 account management. Dubbed Project Orman, it lets CSPs share aggregated recommendations.
“CSP partners will get recommendations from their existing customer base such as customers with trial conversion potential, customers who may need follow-up engagements, or customers ready for new workloads to deploy,” Parker noted in his Inspire blog.
Microsoft is extending its new employee experience tool, Viva, with added partner integrations and enabling interfaces to custom apps. Building on the 10 ISV integrations added earlier this year, Microsoft has announced 21 new partners, including Qualtrics, ServiceNow and Workday. Microsoft is also introducing tools designed to let partners extend their apps into Viva. Set for general availability later this year, the tools will use Viva Connections APIs to integrate with the Viva Connections Dashboard, which aims to make it easier to discover and use those apps within the Viva Connections Dashboard. Also set for release this fall are Viva Learning APIs, for integration with Learning Management Systems.
Microsoft is extending its new employee experience tool, Viva, with added partner integrations and enabling interfaces to custom apps. Building on the 10 ISV integrations added earlier this year, Microsoft has announced 21 new partners, including Qualtrics, ServiceNow and Workday. Microsoft is also introducing tools designed to let partners extend their apps into Viva. Set for general availability later this year, the tools will use Viva Connections APIs to integrate with the Viva Connections Dashboard, which aims to make it easier to discover and use those apps within the Viva Connections Dashboard. Also set for release this fall are Viva Learning APIs, for integration with Learning Management Systems.
MICROSOFT INSPIRE — Microsoft plans to offer a virtual desktop and application service called Windows 365 Cloud PC. The service is among several noteworthy offerings the company is introducing at the Microsoft Inspire partner event that starts Wednesday.
Microsoft’s Satya Nadella
Among other announcements from Microsoft at this week’s Inspire include new programs to accelerate migrations to the Microsoft Azure cloud. Microsoft will also reveal plans to lower transaction fees for use of its commercial marketplace. Furthermore, the company will launch the Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability.
Microsoft’s Rodney Clark
The annual Inspire event will be a virtual conference for the second consecutive year because of the pandemic. Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s chairman and CEO, will give the opening keynote. Also, Rodney Clark, Microsoft’s new channel chief, will address partners for the first time.
Other key Microsoft executives will speak. They include Judson Althoff, the executive VP who the company recently named chief commercial officer; president and chief legal officer Brad Smith; and Nick Parker, corporate VP for global partner solutions.
Our slideshow above features a preview of Windows 365 Cloud PC and other key announcements Microsoft is making at this year’s Inspire.
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