Windows 365, Microsoft"s cloud-based service that lets users access Windows 11 PCs in the cloud, is expanding with a new service called Windows 365 Reserve. The gist is simple: If your main computer is down for whatever reason (outage, malware, buggy update, or something else), Microsoft lends you a temporary Cloud PC so that you can continue working without disruptions.
Microsoft says that Windows 365 Reserve is a standalone offering that grants users up to 10 days of use per year. Should a bunch of PCs go down in your company, admins can deploy pre-configured cloud computers with all the necessary apps and settings so that work can continue quickly from any secondary device (using any modern browser or the Windows App) while the IT department is fixing the main devices.
Once a cloud PC is deployed, users will see a notification and clear instructions about it, including the expiration date. Additionally, Windows 365 will issue an expiry notification three days prior to expiration. Once a session is over, the user can deprovision their cloud PC to reserve access time for future use.
According to the announcement post, Windows 365 Reserve provides three key benefits: Quick deployment for minimal work disruption, simplified IT management via Microsoft Intune, and maximum security with cloud PCs following your company"s security policies by default, easy access revocation, and other administrator controls.
Windows 365 Reserve is currently available as a closed public preview. Those who want to participate can fill out a form or contact a Microsoft account team to join the testing.
It is also worth adding that Windows 365 (and its thin client, the Windows 365 Link) is not available to regular consumers. While the idea of having a cloud-based PC might sound enticing for your average Joe, Microsoft is only offering it to commercial customers. However, Microsoft is not leaving regular people dead in the water. The company recently announced a bunch of features that help minimize disruption, such as Quick Machine Recovery, a system that can apply fixes and patches straight from the recovery environment. QMR, along with other features, should make Windows 11 version 24H2 "the most reliable Windows version ever."