Windows 365 Cloud Apps

Windows 365 Cloud Apps allow administrators to give users secure access to individual apps hosted on a Cloud PC, without requiring a dedicated Cloud PC for every user. Windows 365 Cloud Apps run on Windows 365 Frontline Cloud PCs in shared mode, so Windows 365 Frontline licenses are required to use Cloud Apps.

Prerequisites

To create Cloud Apps, you need a Windows 365 Frontline license.

If you'd like to create Cloud Apps from custom applications (that is, applications that aren't preinstalled in Windows 365 gallery images), then you can either:

• Add a custom image

  • When you upload a custom image, Windows 365 Cloud Apps uses a PowerShell script to scan the Start Menu for apps. However, if your tenant imposes security policies requiring extra authentication for PowerShell, then we can't discover apps. Additionally, if your custom image isn't supported, then we can't discover apps.

• Create an Autopilot Device Preparation Policy

  • Windows 365 Cloud App support for Autopilot Device Preparation is in public preview.

Create Cloud Apps

1. First, create a new Windows 365 provisioning policy, and complete the following steps:

   1. On the General tab, for Experience, select "Access only apps." This selection defaults the License type to Frontline and Shared mode.

   2. In the Image tab, you can view the apps available on the image that you can publish after provisioning.

   3. In the Configuration tab, if you select an Autopilot Device Preparation Policy, then make sure to check the box to "Prevent users from connection to Cloud PC upon installation failure or timeout." You can also enable User Experience Sync so that app settings and data are saved and applied between user sessions.

2. Once the policy is created, the Frontline Cloud PCs in Shared mode with experience type "Cloud App" begin provisioning in All Cloud PCs, and a row with status "Preparing" appears in All Cloud Apps. After the first Cloud PC is provisioned, the apps discovered on the Cloud PC's Start Menu will show as "Ready to publish" in All Cloud Apps.

Publish and edit Cloud Apps

In All Cloud Apps, you can publish, edit, reset, and unpublish Cloud Apps.

• Publish - When you publish Cloud Apps, the app status changes from "Ready to publish" to "Publishing" to "Published." Publishing an app makes it available in Windows App to all users assigned to the provisioning policy. If the app status is "Failed," then try unpublishing and republishing again.

• Edit - You can edit individual Cloud App details, including display name, description, command line, icon path, and icon index. The Cloud App's scope tags and assignment are inherited from the provisioning policy. The edits are published immediately to Windows App.

• Reset - You can reset the Cloud App's details to its original discovered state.

• Unpublish - When you unpublish Cloud Apps, the app status changes from "Published" to "Ready to publish," and the app is no longer available in Windows App. App details are also reset.

Delete Cloud Apps

To delete Cloud Apps, you need to delete the Cloud App provisioning policy assignment or the user group assigned to the policy.

Manage Cloud Apps and Cloud PCs

Since Cloud Apps run on Frontline Cloud PCs in Shared mode, the same management and end-user experiences that apply to Frontline Shared Cloud PCs also apply to Cloud Apps. For example:

• The maximum number of active Windows 365 Cloud App sessions for a provisioning policy is equal to the number of Windows 365 Frontline licenses that you assign to that specific policy. You can monitor concurrency in the Connected Frontline Cloud PCs report.

• All settings applied to the underlying Frontline Cloud PCs, such as redirections or idle timeout settings, also apply to Cloud Apps.

Connect to Cloud Apps

End-users access published apps through Windows App. Published apps can also open other apps that are on the Cloud PC. For example, Microsoft Outlook as a Cloud App can launch Microsoft Edge via embedded links in emails, even if Microsoft Edge isn't published as a Cloud App. To fully control access to apps, use Application Control for Windows.

If Cloud PCs are running supported versions of Windows (Windows 11 Enterprise, version 24H2, or version 22H2 or 23H2 with the 2024-07 Cumulative Update for Windows 11 (KB5040442) or later installed.), then Cloud Apps automatically launch OneDrive.

Enable enhanced user experiences in Cloud Apps (preview)

Enhanced user experiences for Cloud Apps is in public preview. Enhancements include improved support for Windows Snap and full-screen mode, better DPI handling, and refined visuals like borders, shadows, and theme integration in Windows OS. To learn how to enable for Cloud Apps, see RemoteApp enhancements (preview).

Troubleshooting

• If Cloud PCs fail to provision, then see Troubleshoot provisioning errors.

• If Autopilot device preparation fails to install applications, then see Autopilot device preparation monitoring or Autopilot device preparation known issues.

• If Cloud PCs provision successfully and Autopilot device preparation succeeds, but Intune apps don't appear in Cloud Apps, then make sure the policy configuration option "Prevent users from connection to Cloud PC upon installation failure or timeout" is selected.

• If Cloud PCs provision successfully, but Cloud App status is stuck in "Preparing," then try bulk reprovisioning the policy. Alternatively, if that doesn't work, then try deleting and re-creating the Cloud App policy assignment.