Announcing the general availability of Omnissa Horizon Cloud Service Next-Gen with Windows 365

Organizations require solutions that empower their employees to work anywhere and drive productivity. Desktop and app virtualization is one solution that provides secure access to resources and greater flexibility for a distributed workforce. As business continues to evolve, technology must keep pace. Because of this, cloud solutions have taken center stage, offering the infrastructure scalability and ease of access organizations need to stay agile.

“Omnissa is thrilled to bring Horizon Cloud’s capabilities to Windows 365 providing our joint customers with both solutions for their virtualization needs,” said Arindam Nag, VP of Horizon Product Management, Omnissa.

To provide our Omnissa Horizon^® Cloud Service Next-Gen (Horizon Cloud) customers with the most flexible deployment options, Omnissa has collaborated with Microsoft to integrate Horizon Cloud capabilities with Windows 365. Last year at Explore we announced our public preview. We are pleased to announce that Horizon Cloud with Windows 365 is now generally available.

Windows 365 securely streams your personalized Windows desktop, apps, settings, and content from the Microsoft Cloud to a Windows 365 Cloud PC. 

Existing Horizon Cloud customers running on-premises can add Windows 365 to their deployment. This will provide the following capabilities:

• Use Horizon Cloud’s hybrid cloud support through a single interface.
• Deliver high-end display and robust remoting features with the Omnissa Blast Extreme (Blast) protocol.
• Access full application lifecycle management with App Volumes.
• Provide strong security by configuring remote experience policy controls during entitlement.

“This integration helps organizations offer their employees access to Windows 365 Cloud PCs from Horizon environments. We look forward to continuing work with Omnissa and supporting joint customers on their virtualization journey,” said Scott Manchester, Vice President of Product Management for Windows 365 and Azure Virtual Desktop, Microsoft.

Explore the benefits of Horizon with Windows 365 together

Here are the top five ways Horizon with Windows 365 provides simplified hybrid cloud support to easily complement on-premises deployments.

Flexible deployment options with hybrid cloud support

The integration of Horizon Cloud with Windows 365 enables organizations to deploy Windows 365 alongside Horizon 8 and Horizon Cloud. This ability gives organizations the flexibility to run their workloads where needed. The integration allows end users to access their Horizon virtual desktops and apps — and Windows 365 Cloud PCs — via the familiar Horizon client or through their Windows 365 user portal for seamless access to their productivity applications. Customers will use Microsoft Intune to deploy, configure, and manage their Windows 365 Cloud PCs. With Intune, Horizon admins will be able to manage Cloud PC compliance, conditional access policies, and device configurations. At the same time, the Horizon Client will broker access to the Windows 365 Cloud PCs.

Figure 1. End users can launch Windows 365 from their Horizon client, making it easy to access their Cloud PCs and virtual desktops and apps.

IT admins can conveniently manage entitlements for end users to access their Windows 365 Cloud PCs from the Horizon client by launching Windows 365 from the Universal Console. This integration streamlines operations for both end users and administrators, optimizing the overall desktop experience. 

Figure 2. Windows 365 Cloud PC access has been integrated into the Horizon Universal Console. From here IT Admins can (1) configure identity and access, (2) provide permissions for Horizon to communicate with Windows 365, and (3) entitle users.

Enhanced employee experience with Blast Extreme

A robust delivery protocol and network stability are needed for successful virtual deployments and a satisfying user experience. The Blast high-definition protocol offers advanced remoting features. Due to the exceptional responsiveness, end users enjoy high-fidelity displays, even for graphically intensive, 3D, or high-definition (up to 8K) content. These displays mirror the local PC experience and are highly responsive. Additionally, Blast provides optimized audio and video support for key collaboration tools — including Microsoft Teams, Cisco Webex, and Zoom — for improved call and video quality. Regardless of the connection method, network, or device type, Blast’s robust performance extends to Windows 365 Cloud PCs, delivering an improved user experience.

Smooth virtual experience with broad device and peripheral support

Horizon Clients offer extensive support for most client operating systems, including Windows, MacOS, iOS, Google ChromeOS, Android, and Linux. This compatibility provides customers the flexibility to access desktops and apps from any device. Horizon Client supports thousands of validated peripherals like scanners, phones, and webcams — and can be used with Windows 365 for a more personalized experience that matches a user’s local PC experience.

Simplified application management with App Volumes        

App Volumes modernizes application management by making it easy to deliver, update, assign, and manage the lifecycle of apps in real time across on-premises and cloud-based Horizon deployments. App Volumes now supports persistent desktops making it easier for Windows 365 customers to deliver and manage apps from a single console. Its unique approach separates apps from the OS, which reduces the number of discrete OS images IT needs to manage. In addition, apps can be updated, rolled back, or removed easily without requiring desktop image updates. Apps on Demand further enhances App Volumes with on-demand app delivery only when users request access to individual apps. By extending Windows app delivery and management to Windows 365, App Volumes can enable access to all apps, including legacy enterprise applications in Cloud PCs, with 99% app compatibility. 

Strong security with custom remote experience policy

Admins can achieve more robust security by configuring remote experience policy controls when the Horizon agent is installed on Cloud PCs during user entitlement in Horizon Cloud Service to the Cloud PC. This enables admins to control which features are available to end users, from enabling basic capabilities like printing to enforcing stringent security measures, such as disabling copy-paste functionality and session recording. This flexibility ensures that admins can tailor the end-user experience to meet specific organizational needs while maintaining high security standards.

Discover more details in the Microsoft blog. For additional information on the Horizon and Windows 365 integration, click here.