Dieter Kempeneers

At Ignite, Microsoft announced the Windows 365 Link, a new compact and sustainable hardware device built for the Modern Workplace. Let me show you what the fuss is about and what you should take into consideration when you start deploying them.

What is it?

With Windows 365 Link Microsoft introduces a whole new device category that doesn’t carry the Surface branding. That’s because it’s not intended to be a full-featured PC. Instead, the Windows 365 Link is the first device designed to connect securely and swiftly to your Cloud PC from anywhere.

Imagine walking up to any desk in your office, signing in, and instantly seeing your full desktop appear exactly as you left it. That’s the seamless functionality the Windows 365 Link aims to deliver. It’s all about user experience!

You can even ship it directly to end-users, it’s so simple to set up that it does not require any IT interaction before it can be put in production. This only requires you to set up the right configuration to let users enroll Windows 365 (more on that below) within your Intune tenant. After the device is enrolled, it will have a primary user, but as it’s a shared device, this does not matter and has no other functionality.

In general, this is a perfect device to facilitate flex- or hot-desking environments.

Requirements

Windows 365 Link is hardware, built to connect with your Cloud PC. To use it, you must only have access to a Cloud PC. There are no other requirements besides having access to a Windows 365 Link.

Let’s talk about the design

The Windows 365 Link is a compact, fanless, device designed to take up minimal space on your desk. Its clean and subtle design makes it a perfect fit for any workspace. The aesthetic clearly draws heavy inspiration from the Surface Dock, combining functionality with simplicity. It’s not all about design. Windows 365 is also made from a lot of recycled materials which will help organizations to advance in sustainability.

It’s clearly a small device, Microsoft provides a better picture where you can better see its proportions and see how it would look on a regular desk.

What ports does it have?

Windows 365 Link aims to support most end user peripherals. To do so it provides a couple of wired connections that you can use:

• 3,5mm headphone jack, on the front
• 3 x USB-A 3.2, one on the front and two on the back
• 1 x USB-C 3.2, on the back
• 1 x Display port, on the back
• 1 x HDMI, on the back
• 1x Ethernet, on the back
• a Kensington lock port on the side
• its power cord connection

Besides these connections, it does also support Wif-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3. Here is a picture:

It’s also quite powerfull

Under the hood it’s also a very capable machine, specification wise it features:

• 8GB of memory
• 64 GB of flash storage
• x64 CPU

The specs are more than beefy enough to facilitate its use cases. It’s also funny to note that’s not an ARM based machine as the newer Surface laptops are going all-in on ARM.

How to manage the Windows 365 Link

Windows 365 Link runs on a Windows-based lightweight operating system. This means you can fully managed it with Intune. No need to manage the device from a second portal. Did I already mention that it’s also setup in a couple of minutes and that you don’t require any IT interaction?

Built with Security in mind

With Windows as the base for the operating system, it also supports BitLocker encryption. Why is this important you would think as the device itself doesn’t store any data. Even data that is temporary cached on the device is fully protected. Besides that, the OS also comes shipped with a bunch of security features enabled by default and there is full support for TPM 2.0 as well.

What about Teams calling and Multimedia

With user experience as the foundation of the Windows 365 Link it’s safe to say that Microsoft thought about this. Teams calls get redirected from the Cloud PC to the device itself and there is support for multimedia redirection (MRR) as well. So any YouTube video that you watch will act just fine.

What does it cost?

It’s listed at $349 MSRP which in my opinion is a fair price to ask for a device that’s basically plug and play and doesn’t require any other management portal. They will become available for purchase around April 2025.

New Sign-In experience

Microsoft has completely redesigned the Sign-In screen on Windows 365 Link. It uses modern authentication and you can use any form of Entra ID authentication that your company currently requires. FIDO keys are supported as well for easy Cloud PC access.

Tips and Tricks

There are some tips and tricks that you want to know before starting your adventure with Windows 365 Link, here are some:

Allow users to join Windows 365 Link to Entra ID

This can be done from Microsoft Entra under Identity > Devices > Overview > Device Settings. Limit the scope or allow all users to join devices. If you want to permit IT only to enroll Windows 365 Link, that’s possible as well using a security group.

Create Filters for Windows 365 Link

From a management perspective it’s likely to happen that you want to scope some policies on Windows 365 Link devices only. Or the other way around, that you want to exclude them from other policies. It’s easy to solve by creating a filter within Intune.

Use this query:

(device.operatingSystemSKU -eq "WCPC")

Make sure there are no platform restrictions for Windows 365 Link

In addition to the filter also make sure that users are allowed to enroll this specific device. You might have put any other restrictions in place to prevent users from enrolling their personal Windows devices. You can use the filter created earlier in combination with Device Platform Restrictions. Create a new restriction and include the filter that you created earlier and scope it on “all users”. Make sure that this restriction policy has a higher priority than any other limiting policies.

Let’s wrap up

Windows 365 Link takes the simplicity of Windows 365 to the next level, offering a seamless setup process that builds on the familiar ease of use businesses already appreciate. With management capabilities fully integrated into Microsoft Intune, you can manage it just as you do your other endpoints, ensuring a consistent and efficient approach. Plus, security isn’t an afterthought, it’s built into the core design, providing peace of mind that your corporate data remains protected at all times. If you are looking for the complete Microsoft documentation on Windows 365 Link, please visit the learn pages.

Once I get my hands on one, I promise to give you better insights on how the OOBE works. Make sure to let me know your thoughts on this interesting device as well and tell me what you like about it or what you might miss.