Empower retail organizations and the frontline with Windows 365

At the start of a new year, retailers are hard at work establishing operations plans, targeting new market opportunities, and ensuring employees have the resources and skills they need to be successful.

Frontline workers make up a significant portion of the retail workforce. These employees and team members are essential as they directly interact with customers, ensuring a positive shopping experience and driving sales through their service and expertise. The right technology strategy can help these employees be more productive and more empowered by providing them with the right tools at the right time to help customers, check inventory, connect with other teams, and more.

Retail organizations worldwide are looking to new and transformative technology, such as generative AI, data analysis, and virtualization, to meet their needs in 2025 and beyond. Virtualization can be especially helpful to organizations as they provide their employees and vendors with secure access to corporate data and tools.

Windows 365 Cloud PCs: Reshaping how retail work is done

Traditional endpoint technology for retailers means IT departments must provide physical PC or desktop device access to workers (including office employees, frontline retail workers, vendors, and more) as they need it. These devices can be desktops on the retail floor or in back offices, or handheld devices employees use during their shifts. Provisioning, managing, and maintaining these devices to ensure they are working, secure, and up to date can be challenging for IT departments.

Retailers may have additional challenges scaling up or down during yearly sales cycles, adapting to workforce changes (mergers and acquisitions, onboarding new employees, seasonal workers), or providing vendors or third-party contractors with access to corporate data.

Virtualization with Windows 365 can help retail organizations address these needs by providing each employee with a Cloud PC—a full Windows desktop experience that users can access from anywhere on any device. Windows 365 also provides IT departments with the manageability, scalability, and flexibility of the Microsoft Cloud. And organizations looking for virtualization options can trust that Microsoft is a leader in this space—learn more at Microsoft recognized as a Leader in the 2024 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Desktop as a Service.

Retail organizations can take advantage of the elastic capacity of Windows 365, powered by Microsoft Azure datacenters across the globe. The ability to quickly scale Windows 365 Cloud PCs helps organizations navigate business capacity scenarios—such as additional point-of-sale (POS) needs during the holidays—without the need for capacity planning. Retailers can efficiently deploy only the Cloud PCs they need. Employees can access their Cloud PCs via browsers or the Windows App, making it easy to connect to Cloud PCs across platforms, including Windows, macOS, and iOS.

Security is built in with Windows 365. Data is protected in the cloud—no customer or company data resides on the physical device.

Customers like Lands' End, a US-based retailer, are already benefiting from the power of Cloud PCs:

“Utilizing Windows 365 for our call centers in the US and Europe and for our remote staff over the past three years has resolved the scaling challenges with internal virtualization platforms, provided consistent support and configuration standards, and increased the speed of service delivery for users and customers. We are very excited to see how Windows 365 Link will also simplify the hardware endpoint, making this a secure and managed end-to-end solution!”

-- Dominic Parks, Senior Director of IT Infrastructure and Operations, Lands' End

Windows 365 Enterprise: For information workers needing access to dedicated Cloud PCs

For many roles across the retail industry, having access to a full Windows 365 desktop, 24/7, is crucial. This is especially true for executives, managers, or administrators who need access to their desktop experiences whether at home, in the office, or on the go from a mobile device. All of these roles need to have secure access to their applications (email, calendars, inventory, scheduling, and more), as well as to documents or files saved to their device. A Cloud PC gives them the ability to access these tools, on one personalized desktop experience, from any device. They can use this personalized Cloud PC experience to be more productive at work for:

• Inventory management: Access real-time inventory data from any device, ensuring that stock levels are accurately maintained; check the availability of a product while assisting a customer.
• Training and onboarding: Provide new hires with immediate access to training materials and company resources to reduce onboarding time and help get them the tools they need faster.
• Workforce management: Access scheduling software and employee performance data to make informed decisions about staffing levels and shift assignments.

Windows 365 Frontline: For frontline workers, call centers, seasonal workers, contractors, and more

Some frontline retail workers may not need access to a Cloud PC 24/7, but they still benefit from having access to a Cloud PC from time to time. This is where Windows 365 Frontline comes in. It was designed to support traditional frontline use cases plus other shift or part-time workers by giving flexibility to IT pros, contractors, or other users who only need intermittent access. One Windows 365 Frontline license provides Cloud PC access to multiple users, one at a time (or non-concurrently), which can help optimize costs for organizations while delivering a full desktop experience.

Windows App gives a retail manager access to both a dedicated and a shared Cloud PC.

These Windows 365 Frontline licenses can be used in two ways:

• In dedicated mode, a single Windows 365 Frontline license provides access to personalized Cloud PCs for up to three users, one at a time. This is ideal for organizations with shift workers or multiple time zones, including call centers, or frontline employees who need access only during their working hours. For example, a retail organization with locations in the United States, the United Kingdom, and India may find they can share a Windows 365 Frontline license across a user in each of these time zones, provided they do not need to access the Cloud PCs at the same time.
• In shared mode, announced as in preview at Ignite 2024, a single Windows 365 Frontline license provides access to a single, non-personalized Cloud PC experience, which deletes user profile data after each sign out. The Cloud PC can be shared across a group of users, which is ideal for organizations that need the power of a desktop experience but do not need licenses or personalized desktop experiences for every employee. For example, retail workers who typically spend time working the floor or backrooms but are not regularly on a device can use the Windows 365 Frontline Cloud PC experience to complete tasks such as updating an entry about a delivery or completing timesheets.
  
  

Windows 365 GPU-enabled Cloud PCs: For developers, designers, and others with graphics-intensive workloads

Many retailers are finding the need to grow and support their business with software developers, product designers, engineering and marketing teams, and other roles that may require support for graphic-intensive workloads. Windows 365 GPU-enabled capabilities, available with Windows 365 Enterprise or Windows 365 Frontline editions, provides access to Cloud PCs optimized for higher performance and greater capacity needs. Learn more about Windows 365 GPU-enabled PCs.

Windows 365 Link: The right device for Cloud PCs on the retail floor

Windows 365 Link is a simple, secure, purpose-built device for Windows 365. It can be a game changer for retailers looking to have a streamlined device on the retail floor. Now in preview, Windows 365 Link provides organizations with a cost-effective solution that can easily be integrated into their physical device strategy, providing an easy and affordable device that quickly accesses Cloud PCs for Windows 365 Enterprise, Windows 365 Business, and Windows 365 Frontline.

These devices fit in POS locations, where employees check out customers’ purchases, and in admin or information booths throughout the retail location for access to inventory or line-of-business applications. They support remote work by allowing employees to have a Cloud PC-enabled device right from their home. Learn more about Windows 365 Link.

Get started with Windows 365 today

With the full range of Windows 365 options, retailers considering virtualization are able to build the approach that works for them. By providing retail workers with secure, scalable, and flexible tools, these services can enhance operational efficiency, improve customer satisfaction, and boost employee productivity.

To learn more about Windows 365 or get started today: 

• Visit the Windows 365 page.
• Read more about Windows 365 on our Microsoft Learn documentation page at Windows 365.
• Check out the Windows 365 interactive guide.
• Talk to your Microsoft account team or contact Windows 365 sales.

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