New Windows 365 “Cloud PC” From Microsoft

Microsoft has announced its new hybrid Windows 365 cloud service where the operating system is stored in Microsoft’s Cloud and which securely streams each user’s apps, data, and settings to personal or corporate devices, acting as a full Windows desktop PC in the cloud.

New Era of Hybrid Personal Computer

Microsoft is calling the new subscription (SaaS) Windows 365 service (which is a simplified version of its Azure Virtual Desktop) as a “new era of hybrid personal computing” because it “draws on the power of the cloud and the capabilities of the device”.

Work From Anywhere, On Any Device, Pick Up Where You Left Off

The new Windows 365 service enables the streaming of a full Windows desktop from the cloud. With the service, Windows 10 and 11 users can:

– Stream all their personalised applications, tools, data, and settings from the cloud across any device including a Mac, iPad, Linux device, or Android.

– Work from anywhere (e.g. a hotel room or a tablet from their car) and pick up where they left off because their individual PC in the cloud remains the same, even when switching devices.

Supports Business Apps

Windows 365 cloud service also supports business apps such as Microsoft 365, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Microsoft Power Platform, and Microsoft is offering to stand by its promise of app compatibility with App Assure, a Microsoft service that helps customers with 150 or more users fix any app issues they might run into at no additional cost.

Ideal For Remote Working

The fact that users can experience their whole, individual Windows PC streamed through to any chosen device from the cloud and saved/back-up in the cloud for whenever they log on makes it ideal for remote working and for the many businesses that look like continuing flexible working practices post-pandemic. As Microsoft points out, “we’re seeing a new world of work emerge. Organizations everywhere have transformed themselves through virtual processes and remote collaboration. And as people embrace hybrid work—with people returning to the office, continuing to work from home, or some mix of the two—things will be different all over again”.

Microsoft also points to the finding of its recent Work Trend Index as proof of the need for a cloud-based hybrid solution of this kind. The Index has boiled down a study of more than 30,000 people in 31 countries plus an analysis of trillions of productivity and labour signals across Microsoft 365 and LinkedIn to arrive at some key statistics and 7 trends.

For example, the Work Trend Index found that 73 percent of workers now want flexible remote work options to stay, but 67 percent also want more in-person collaboration, post-pandemic.

Analytics and Watchdog Service

The 365 cloud service also has built-in analytics that looks at connection health across networks to make sure Cloud PC users can reach everything they need on the network to be productive. The analytics are not only able to identify Cloud PC environments where a user’s performance needs aren’t being met, but also give recommendations and enable upgrades for users at the touch of a button, thereby saving time, simplifying problem-solving and quickly boosting productivity.

Zero Trust Architecture

The Zero Trust Architecture means that security needs can be met by storing and securing information in the cloud (not on the device) and using Multifactor authentication (MFA) to verify any login or access attempt to a Cloud PC through integration with Microsoft Azure Active Directory (Azure AD).

Solves Some Old Problems

The fact that the individual Windows desktop PCs are stored securely in (and streamed from) the cloud as and when needed could solve a lot of traditional IT management problems. For example, this hybrid system looks likely to give business greater flexibility and scalability, help productivity and support innovation by making remote work and collaboration easier, tackle many of the hardware challenges (cost and maintenance), allow faster problem solving (watchdog and diagnostics), and help reduce security risks and threats. Microsoft is also keen to stress the simplicity of the service.

When?

Microsoft says that the new 365 cloud service will be “generally available later this calendar year”, although it looks set to launch for business users from August 2.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

The new Windows 365 cloud service sees Microsoft adapting and building upon its existing, popular Azure platform and virtualisation technology to try and create a hybrid service that should appeal to business users, particularly at a time where effectively managing the challenges of flexible (hybrid) and remote working look like being ongoing trends. This service also enables Microsoft to expand its subscription model and will appeal to the large businesses that are now ready to commit more to the cloud. The power, control, flexibility, simplicity, and security aspects of the service are also likely to appeal to businesses that need to be able to manage their computing needs and maximise the possibility of improved productivity at a time which seems very uncertain and where there are already enough risks to cope with in the rapidly changing business environment.

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Tech Insight : What is DaaS?

In this article, we take a brief look at what DaaS is, as well as its advantages and disadvantages.

Desktop as a Service

Desktop as a Service (DaaS) is a service where virtual applications/virtual desktops, via a third-party public or private cloud service, are made accessible (streamed) to users over the Internet via an html-based web browser or a secure application downloaded to the user’s device(s). DaaS is usually licensed with a per-user subscription.

VDI, VM, and DaaS

VDI refers to the backend ‘virtual desktop infrastructure’ of DaaS, including the ‘virtual machines’ that run desktop operating systems, and are hosted by the third-party cloud provider. A virtual machine (VM) is a virtual environment which operates just like a ‘computer within a computer’, runs on its own isolated part of its host computer, and has its own resources that enable it to let end-users operate it (run apps on it) as they would a physical workstation.

Advantages of DaaS

The advantages of DaaS include:

– It offers businesses a simple to operate, centralised, turnkey, pay-as-you-go solution with minimal set-up time.

– It is flexible and scalable.

– IT admin is simplified (saving time and money).

– The DaaS providers handle VDI deployment, maintenance, security, upgrades, data backup, and storage, thereby saving money and freeing up in-house IT resources and meaning that companies don’t have to go to the expense, trouble, and risk of trying to manage their own on-premises VDI solution.

– An improved disaster recovery (DR) solution (i.e. failover resources) are hosted (securely) in the cloud rather than needing backup workstations.

– Better functionality and productivity from being less likely to fail, experience downtime or disruptions.

– Less dependence on (and fewer costs for) hardware/desktop infrastructure supply chains.

– DaaS can deliver better insights from data, as well as better data integration and governance.

– Improved agility of data workloads.

Disadvantages of DaaS

Some disadvantages include:

– Users will still need a device capable of running and accessing the DaaS service, as well as a good, fast Internet connection. Both of these factors have cost and employee access implications.

– Licensing payments are still required.

– Moving (sensitive) data to the cloud could bring some compliance challenges for some organisations.

– Trust in the security of the cloud is necessary and moving data to the cloud and transferring it over a network could, arguably, bring a data risk compared to keeping it locally behind the firewall.

– IT staff/the business may lack experience in using DaaS.

Some Examples

Examples of DaaS providers/service include Microsoft Windows Virtual Desktop, Amazon WorkSpaces, VMware Horizon Cloud, Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops, Cloudalize, V2 Cloud, and dinCloud (dinWorkSpace).

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

Many businesses have made the move to the cloud anyway and are also now used to the subscription economy and the ‘as-a-service’ model of delivery e.g., Windows 10. The DaaS model clearly offers many benefits, to businesses e.g., cost and resource savings, centralisation, security, flexibility, and simplification, as well as being particularly useful at a time when remote working and now the move to hybrid working have become important. DaaS also enables companies to improve the agility of data workloads, get important business insights more quickly, offer a better work access solution to employees as well as freeing the business from many of the traditional IT management and admin challenges.

Suspected Cannabis Farm Turns Out To Be A Bitcoin Mining Farm

Police in Sandwell in the West Midlands recently discovered a warehouse that had been converted to an operation to illegally supply large quantities of electricity for Bitcoin mining.

Same Heat & Electricity Profile as a Cannabis Farm

The warehouse was raided by police after the heat generated, which had been spotted by the heat camera on a police drone, and the excessive electricity consumption appeared to show all the hallmarks of a cannabis farm.

The find, the second of its kind in the area, showed that criminals have adapted an existing money-generating model to tap into a technological rather than a biological fast money-making scheme that essentially cuts out the middlemen and delivers direct profit with fewer risks.

Illegal Electricity Supply

The criminals were found to have made an illegal connection to the electricity supply from Western Power in order to power the 100 computer units that were discovered in the warehouse.

Bitcoin Mining

Bitcoin “mining” uses specialised Bitcoin computers that are constantly powered on and connected to the cryptocurrency network to verify transactions (sending and receiving of the Bitcoin cryptocurrency). This verification is achieved by the computers solving puzzles to prevent fraud and to win small amounts of Bitcoin. The whole process is extremely energy hungry. In fact, Researchers from Cambridge recently highlighted how Bitcoin mining consumes 21.36 terawatt-hours (TWh) a year, meaning that if Bitcoin were a country, its energy (electricity) consumption would be ranked above Argentina and the energy could power all the kettles in the UK for 27 years.

Three People Suspected

Three people, who were described by a witness (on the Birmingham Live website) as looking “a bit nerdy and dodgy” had apparently been noticed visiting the warehouse unit at the Great Bridge Industrial Estate, Tipton, at odd hours over the past 8 months. The warehouse unit was reported to have suspicious-looking wiring and ventilation ducts visible from the outside.

Bitcoin Mining Not Illegal

Although Bitcoin mining is not illegal, the way the criminals obtained the electricity for the operation, which was estimated to have used thousands of pounds worth of power does appear to have been illegal. Also, damage to the unit through its conversion to crypto-mining farm is yet to be assessed.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

Criminals, particularly in the tech world, are always looking for scams and schemes that deliver maximum profit for minimum ongoing effort, whilst maintaining their anonymity and keeping their distance (often the other side of the world) from their crimes. This scheme shows how criminals have tried to be smart (in the technical sense) by using an existing idea (taking over a building and an electricity supply) to make a fast profit with middlemen from a currency that would be very difficult to trace back to them through the online technical route. Their mistakes, however, appeared to be that they failed to take account of elements in the real-world (i.e. the heat generated that could be spotted by police surveillance). Also, although they are likely to have made money by keeping their distance online but the wiring, setting up and monitoring of the warehouse meant that they had to remain physically too close to their crime, which in this case is the theft of electricity.

This story illustrates how tech-based criminals are finding ever-more creative and sophisticated ways to exploit opportunities and make money, and businesses should, therefore, focus on making their cyber-defences as robust as possible using tried and tested methods to stop any basic breaches, however creative the methodology.