Within the last year, Microsoft not only revealed a new generation of Windows, they fully dived in by launching Windows 11 last Autumn, and now they have scheduled another preview event to discuss the “exciting future” of “Hybrid Work, Powered by Windows.” The event took place on April 5th at 11AM ET, and featured Windows executive Panos Panay, showing off Microsoft’s security, productivity, and management features, both in the client and the cloud.
Details of the event can be found here:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/business/event
Microsoft has not openly discussed the event, but we’ve seen plenty of clues about the kind of hybrid work solutions and security tools Microsoft is working on for businesses where the “office” is more of an idea than a location. That includes Windows 365 subscriptions for cloud PCs that you access via a web browser, the rollout of its Fluid framework for Microsoft Office apps (now rebranded as Loop), and a detailed vision of the future of meetings with Microsoft Teams.
Last year Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella wrote that “Hybrid work represents the biggest shift to how we work in our generation. And it will require a new operating model, spanning people, places, and processes.” Naturally, his LinkedIn post included a screenshot of a metaverse meeting filled with oddly rendered avatars, and Nadella has referenced the term repeatedly since then. It is interesting to see how much that comes up in the presentation.