Once again, the Microsoft partner conference Inspire took place virtually. Satya Nadella announced the exciting news in his keynote, which we have summarised.
Windows 365 completes Microsoft’s Cloud Suite
With the unveiling of the Windows 365 “Cloud PC” service at this year’s Inspire, Microsoft has released the last remaining piece for its cloud puzzle. Starting October 2nd, Windows 365 users will be able to stream a Windows desktop in any web browser and the solution will be available on any PC or mobile device. “In the same way we brought Office to the cloud with Office 365 and servers to the cloud with Azure, we’re now bringing Windows to the cloud [with Windows 365]” said Melissa Grant, director of product marketing for Microsoft 365. Another new feature is the ability to run a virtualised version of Windows on any PC or mobile device – including Apple’s Mac, iPad, and iPhone, as well as Android and Linux devices.
Ultimately, Windows 365 takes full advantage of the cloud by providing customers with a simple and secure way to deploy a digital workspace that can scale and adapt to individual needs, while avoiding the cost of corporate-owned infrastructure and endpoint hardware.
Azure 2.0 – What can we expect?
Another key theme at Inspire 2021 was that Microsoft continues investing and delivering new features for its Azure cloud. A good example is the new features for Azure Stack HCI – Microsoft’s cloud-connected, hyper-converged infrastructure cluster solution – that includes simplified guest licence activation and improved infrastructure security. During his Inspire keynote, Nadella said that compared to the Microsoft cloud, of which Azure is the core, “no other cloud offers the breadth and depth. […] The Microsoft cloud helps any organisation leverage its digital capabilities while ensuring its independence and sovereignty over them. No other cloud offers that. And the Microsoft cloud is built on trust and security: Trust in the technology, trust in the alignment of the business model. No other cloud offers that.” Nadella said. “The Microsoft Cloud provides the best integration across the technology stack, while providing openness at every layer of the stack, which ultimately improves time to market, reduces cost, and increases agility. No other cloud offers that.”
Double focus on industry-oriented cloud solutions – new with the 6th cloud: Cloud for Sustainability
Partners have seen Microsoft shifting focus from product-to-product solutions to a strategy around business outcomes. Hence the investment in the tech giant’s “Industry Clouds” strategy, which offers industry-focused packages of cloud tools and services, said Alysa Taylor, Microsoft corporate vice president of industry, apps, and data marketing. “Most of our ecosystem has vertical solutions, but all of our capabilities were horizontal – that was very difficult for partners.”
A focus on business outcomes and vertical solutions is what partners and customers want, she said. During Inspire, Microsoft unveiled its sixth industry cloud, Cloud for Sustainability.
Strong focus on Viva – The Employee Experience Platform
Microsoft Viva, the employee experience platform that helps customers to create an employee-centred working environment, now is willing to focus on employee growth and company-culture experience. Thus, a strong expansion towards Training & Co. in the Viva environment is being expected.
About Microsoft Inspire
Microsoft Inspire is Microsoft’s largest partner conference worldwide. The conference is aimed at all Microsoft partners to present the latest technologies, trends, and plans for the coming twelve months.
You can read more exciting news in the Book of News from Microsoft.
