As old-school virtual desktop player Omnissa distances itself further from VMware

Microsoft thinks cloudy PCs might be overkill for some users, so has started streaming individual apps instead as part of its Windows 365 service.

The software giant on Thursday announced the public preview of what it calls “Windows 365 Cloud Apps”, a service that allows users of Frontline Cloud PCs – a virtual PC shared by up to three users – to boot straight into an app instead of the Windows desktop.

“This is ideal for organizations that want to streamline app delivery, reduce overhead, and modernize their virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) environments,” wrote Microsoft senior product manager Serena Zheng, who said the service delivers “only essential applications like Outlook or Word without loading a full desktop.”

Her post suggests Microsoft wants to open the service to more apps.

“As organizations embrace Windows 365 Cloud Apps, Microsoft is focused on simplifying app delivery even further—making it faster, easier, and more intuitive ...