Microsoft Sees The Future Of Organizations In The Hybrid Workspace And Windows 11
Six Months After The Release Of Windows 11 And The Very Small Number Of Migrations To It, Microsoft In An Event Tried To Introduce Its New Operating System As The Best And Safest Option For Organizations By Unveiling Several Functionalities.
Six months after Windows 11, statistics show that Windows users are migrating very little to Microsoft’s latest operating system. While ordinary users are usually drawn to Windows 11 by buying new PCs, organizations and businesses are reluctant to migrate to this fledgling operating system. Analysts believe it will take up to 20 years for the majority to turn to Windows 11.
However, the Redmondians decided to take control of the situation and, instead of waiting until next year, from now on, introduce Windows 11 as the best option for organizations. To that end, Microsoft unveiled new features for Windows 11 at the April 16 event, held virtually from the company’s official website under the slogan “Windows for the future of hybrid work,” specifically focusing on four areas: security, productivity, and accessibility. And the cloud was concentrated.
Of course, all these changes were also introduced in line with the event slogan, making the Windows operating system more popular for businesses and corporate users. Panos Panai, the charismatic director of Windows, started the Microsoft event with this sentence:
Pussy plays a significant role in our lives these days more than ever; However, our priorities are no longer the same as before the epidemic. Flexibility has become very important for employees around the world.
These included guessing which community of Windows 11 users the new Windows 11 features that were to be introduced at the event were aimed at; Of course, Microsoft did not shy away from introducing these features, and during the event, it unveiled a wide range of services and features that ranged from device security and management to productivity and video calling and the Windows 365 cloud operating system.
Among these features, which we will fully explain in the following, is the ability to open a tab in File Explorer and add options to reduce ambient noise and improve eye contact in the Windows environment to improve video calls more than other features. Microsoft was keen to introduce Windows 11 as the “safest operating system” globally for organizations. To convince the audience, it described the new capabilities of its security technology called “Microsoft Pluto.” introduced This technology in 2020. Still, it is not yet among the makers of personal computers.
Microsoft has always strived to make its operating system more accessible to people with disabilities; Therefore, an essential part of this event was dedicated to introducing new capabilities to improve the accessibility of Windows 11 further.
Then Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella stepped in and began his speech by highlighting the role of the cloud and the cloud:
The line between PCs and the cloud is blurring. Our goal and desire are to develop an operating system that can adapt to the needs of the user, not an operating system that forces the user to adapt to itself.
This event may be the first serious attempt by Microsoft to convince users, especially corporate users, to migrate to Windows 11. The Redmondians will likely do more in the fall after releasing their first major operating system update to persuade Windows 10 users to switch to the latest version of Windows.
What are features introduced at the “Windows at the service of the future of hybrid work” event?
At the event, Microsoft unveiled several new features focusing on hybrid work, or a combination of face-to-face and telecommuting, emphasizing greater security, better productivity, and more efficient management. While expected these features to target the Edge browser and the Microsoft Thames application (two Microsoft products in the Windows environment that Redmond’s more proud of than anything else), the event was more focused on Windows 11 itself.
Update File Explorer with support for tabs and favorites and a new homepage
In its latest event, Microsoft unveiled a new design of File Explorer that was seen in demos of Windows 11 last month. The ability to open the tab in the File Explorer window that many users have been looking for, along with a new homepage that includes quick access folders and recent documents and a custom option, is set to make it easier to work in Windows and quickly access folders or find custom files.
Thanks to the new File Explorer design, Windows 11 users will soon be able to right-click on a file to add to their favorites and appear as a pin on the File Explorer home page. There are also enhanced sharing options for files.
Although Microsoft did not give an exact date for the update, we expect to see this feature in the monthly update before the 22H2 update.
As it turns out, Microsoft is releasing many exciting features of Windows 11 ahead of the significant 22H2 upgrade, which makes us even more excited for considerable advancement in the middle of this year. In addition, at the event, Microsoft unveiled the Return to Folder feature in the Start Menu, which was present on all versions of Windows except Windows 11. This feature is already available for some PCs, and other users may receive this update in the coming days.
Make Windows 11 more innovative to improve the quality of online meetings.
In another move to persuade organizations to use Windows 11, Microsoft has cleverly distanced itself from the troublesome Thames app, which is designed for hybrid work and teamwork and has many disgruntled users and has announced online meeting capabilities for the operating system itself. And apply to all video calling programs that run on Windows.
These intelligent features include Voice Focus, Eye Contact Enhancement, Automatic Framing, and Portrait Background Blur. Because they require a neural processing unit, they are initially only for Qualcomm processor-based devices will be activated, including Lenovo’s new ThinkPad X13 series powered by the third-generation Snapdragon 8CX processor.
According to Paul Bar, product manager at Microsoft Group, these innovative features, because they run locally on the device, put minimal strain on system performance or battery consumption and protect users’ privacy. Most likely, the Eye Contact feature will attract the attention of many users; Because it allows them to look at their notes while attending meetings; While looking at them, the image is always adjusted to the camera.
Integrating Windows 365 cloud operating system with Windows
Last summer, Microsoft introduced its cloud operating system, called Windows 365, to enterprise users, which allows businesses to connect to their Windows through a single browser from any device.
The operating system is integrated with Windows 11 and has three new features, including Boot and Switch and Windows 365 offline.
The Windows 365 Boot feature allows employees to use their devices for business purposes, keeping work files in a protected area separate from local Windows. The Windows 365 Switch feature, as its name implies, is also used to switch between Windows 365 cloud and local Windows 11.
Microsoft is also working on Windows 365 Offline, which allows users to access Windows still offline when the Internet is down while using Windows Cloud so that after reconnecting, any changes made to Windows will continue. Sync the cloud.
Finally, a dedicated Windows 365 application allows users to access their Windows cloud directly from the taskbar or Start menu without opening a browser.
New tools to increase productivity and accessibility
At the event, Microsoft unveiled several new tools to increase productivity and accessibility and improve the touch experience, many of which had already been tested by beta users in Windows Insider. Still, now they will be officially made available to the public through software updates.
These new features include Focus Timer, Do Not Disturb, Live Captions, and Touch Snap Layouts.
Focus and Do Not Disturb capabilities also help users focus on their work in a distraction-free environment. The Live Captions feature is an automatic subtitle and is especially useful for deaf people and language learners. In addition, Focus is equipped with a countdown tool that allows the user to schedule.
Snap layout was a new multitasking feature introduced in Windows 11 that allowed four different projects to run simultaneously. With a touch screen, you can pin the associated windows together using your finger, making navigation on devices without a keyboard or mouse easier.
Increase the security of Windows 11; Microsoft Pluto technology
After all, security is happier. At the event, Microsoft showed that it intends to increase the security of Windows PCs with the help of hardware and cloud upgrades and the use of artificial intelligence to protect more and more users from malware and phishing attacks. In addition to talking about future capabilities, the company shared information about existing security capabilities, including Microsoft Pluton.
Pluto relies on several security features such as TPM 2.0, firmware and identity protection, direct memory access, and memory protection against source code manipulation in Windows 11. Since introducing this security mechanism in 2020, it has long been widely used.
Some manufacturers, including Dell and Lenovo, have taken a stand against using Pluto to increase the security of their devices, preferring to use Intel vPro technology, which can not use with Pluto.
At the event, Microsoft sought to draw the attention of developers to Pluto, which will receive constant updates in the face of security threats.
Microsoft also promised that the next update to Windows 11 would prevent hacker attacks by injecting malicious code by default. It is reassuring news, especially for organizations concerned about their systems being infected with ransomware. A new feature called Smart App Control will only allow you to install secure applications in the Windows environment.
Windows 11 will soon use encryption for personal data to protect its files and data as long as the user is not logged in. Local Security Authority protection will also be enabled by default on Windows 11, which will prevent credentials from being stolen through the Local Security Authority, which is a frequent target for attackers.
At the end of the event, Wangui McClaw, CEO of Microsoft 365, said many corporate users were skeptical that Windows 11 was ready for corporate use. Still, Microsoft is prepared to prove that its new operating system is fully operational in office environments.
It remains to be seen whether the Redmondians will be able to bring a more significant percentage of enterprise users from Windows 10 to Windows 11 by the end of this year or whether they will still need a few more years to persuade them to migrate.