Windows 365 Disaster Recovery Plus extends Cloud PC resilience

Disaster recovery is a critical consideration for any IT endpoint strategy. Since its launch, Windows 365—which offers a secure, scalable, and seamless Cloud PC experience, enables users to access their personalized Windows environment from anywhere, on any device—has several options for business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR). These options include Windows 365 Cross-region Disaster Recovery and, soon, Windows 365 Disaster Recovery Plus. To address organizations’ security and resiliency needs, IT admins may use any or all of the available options in deployment to optimize their approach for each user.

Introducing Windows 365 Disaster Recovery Plus

Windows 365 Disaster Recovery Plus will be generally available in spring 2025. It is currently available in preview as a licensed add-on for Windows 365 Enterprise edition only. Windows 365 Disaster Recovery Plus is specifically designed for users whose Cloud PC use demands high disaster recovery performance in case of an outage. These needs include faster recovery time, lower risk of data loss, and preallocated capacity that helps ensure recovery in case of an infrastructure outage.

As with Windows 365 Cross-region Disaster Recovery, Windows 365 Disaster Recovery Plus replicates Cloud PC disk snapshots in an alternate region. When it’s activated, users will be pointed to a temporary Cloud PC. During an outage, the user will have access to their temporary Cloud PC with all installed applications and settings based on the latest restore point. However, it’s important to note that no work is saved. Any work done should be saved to another option in the Microsoft Cloud, such as Microsoft OneDrive or Microsoft SharePoint. After the temporary Cloud PC is deactivated, no applications, data, or other information will be preserved from the temporary Cloud PC, and the user will be returned to their primary Cloud PC as it was prior to the disaster recovery event.

Windows 365 Disaster Recovery Plus configuration & use

Configuration

Configuration of Windows 365 Disaster Recovery Plus is intuitive and can be completed in a few clicks. Users must first have an appropriate Windows 365 Enterprise license assigned.

As with Windows 365 Cross-region Disaster Recovery configuration settings, Windows 365 Disaster Recovery Plus is configured in the Microsoft Intune admin center under Devices > Windows 365 > User Settings > Optional Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery.

Select the type of “Optional Business Continuity Disaster Recovery Settings” desired—in this case, Disaster Recovery Plus. Select Microsoft Hosted Network or Azure Network Connect (ANC) for the network type, and then select the desired geography and region options. Once configured, Windows 365 Disaster Recovery Plus automatically creates the temporary Cloud PCs and maintains them.

Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery settings in the Microsoft Intune management panel.

Monitoring and maintenance

Windows 365 disaster recovery add-ons, including Windows 365 Disaster Recovery Plus, are simple to monitor and maintain using the Cloud PC optional BCDR status report. This report shows if users are assigned and configured for optional BCDR, if the environment is healthy, the license type, and other information about the BCDR configuration and status. Please note that after the initial configuration, it will take several hours for the first temporary Cloud PC to be available in the alternate region.

As with other Windows 365 reports, this report is found in the Intune admin center in Reports > Cloud PC overview > Cloud PC optional business continuity and disaster recovery status.

Optional business continuity and disaster recovery status report in the Microsoft Intune management panel.

Activating and deactivating Windows 365 Disaster Recovery Plus

During an outage or for testing, Windows 365 Disaster Recovery Plus, like other BCDR add-ons, may be activated and deactivated to move users to their temporary Cloud PCs. These disaster recovery add-ons are designed to be used in case of a large-scale event, with the temporary Cloud PCs activated and deactivated from the Intune admin center in Devices > All devices > Bulk device action > Optional disaster recovery.

Windows 365 Disaster Recovery Plus may be applied to a set of individual users or user groups to provide fast and simple activation or deactivation.

Bulk device action in the Microsoft Intune management panel.

Next steps

Learn more about:

• Windows 365 Disaster Recovery Plus Microsoft Learn page (updates will be available upon general availability)
• Point-in-time restore for Windows 365
• Azure network connection for Windows 365
• Microsoft Azure regions and zones
• Windows 365 Cross-region Disaster Recovery
• Enhancing resiliency with Windows 365 – Microsoft Technical Takeoff virtual session
  (March 5, 2025)

Frequently asked questions

Q: Are all Windows 365 regions available to select as an alternate region for Windows 365 Disaster Recovery Plus?
A: Any geography or region where Windows 365 is available may be used as an alternate region. And any of those areas can be selected by the IT admin. Admins should carefully consider the location of Cloud PC users, as well as data sovereignty, when selecting an alternate region.

Q: If a user has multiple Cloud PCs, can each of their devices have a different Windows 365 Disaster Recovery Plus configuration?
A: No. At this time, all Cloud PCs associated with a user will have the same Windows 365 Disaster Recovery Plus configuration.

Q: How do I make the choice between Windows 365 Cross-region Disaster Recovery and Windows 365 Disaster Recovery Plus?
A: Both add-ons replicate Cloud PC disk snapshots to another region during a disaster. Windows 365 Disaster Recovery Plus provides enhanced disaster recovery capabilities such as a shorter Recovery Time Objective (RTO), preallocated capacity, and a shorter Recovery Point Objective (RPO) compared to Windows 365 Cross-region Disaster Recovery.

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