Has anyone tried Excel on Windows 365 yet, ideally on a Mac?

[alexcr]

So Windows 365 is finally available, allowing anyone to stream Windows and Windows apps from the cloud...

Meet Windows 365 | Windows 365

Deploy and manage Cloud PCs with Windows 365, a Microsoft virtualization solution designed for hybrid work. Find the right Windows 365 plan for your employees.

www.microsoft.com

My primary computer is a MacBook Pro, but for years, I've dealt with owning a separate Windows laptop simply for purposes of Excel, as I far prefer the Windows version of Excel to the Mac one.

It seems like Windows 365 might be the solution I've long been waiting for, as it could allow me to run the Windows version of Excel on my MacBook Pro, and thus finally ditch my Windows laptop. (I realize other solutions have previously existed, such as using virtualization software like Parallels, but Windows 365 seems like a less cumbersome solution.)

I'm curious if anyone in the forum has given Windows 365 a shot yet, particularly running it on Macs for purposes of using the Windows version of Excel. What has your experience been like? How comparable has it been to running Excel on a Windows computer? How do keyboard shortcuts work? I'd love to hear about it.

 

[Jim Gordon]

Hi

You can use the Windows version of Microsoft Office on a Mac either by doing a direct boot to Microsoft Windows using Apple's built-in bootcamp or via a virtual machine like Parallels Desktop for Mac. Using Parallels lets you run Windows and Mac OS concurrently, but there is a performance hit. If your workbooks are super computationally intense or graphically intense, use the Boot Camp option.

 

[alexcr]

Hi

You can use the Windows version of Microsoft Office on a Mac either by doing a direct boot to Microsoft Windows using Apple's built-in bootcamp or via a virtual machine like Parallels Desktop for Mac. Using Parallels lets you run Windows and Mac OS concurrently, but there is a performance hit. If your workbooks are super computationally intense or graphically intense, use the Boot Camp option.

Thanks, @Jim Gordon Mac MVP! I'm aware of these options, but I like the concept of Windows 365, because (i) unlike Parallels, it doesn't require me to install a virtual machine, (ii) unlike bootcamp, it allows me to run Windows and MacOS concurrently, and (iii) unlike both Parallels and MacOS, computation is largely happening in the cloud, so performance should in theory be pretty solid.

With that said, I haven't yet been able to find anyone with firsthand experience trying out this setup, perhaps in part because Windows 365 just launched a month or so ago.

 

[Jim Gordon]

Windows 365 appears to be a dumb terminal arrangement where you connect to a virtual machine running Microsoft WIndows and MIcrosoft Office applications. The promotional material offers an "enterprise" option, but does not say exactly which applications are included. Does it include everything you get with say an E5 license? I don't know. The most important consideration in evaluating this is your internet bandwidth. If you have gigabit internet speeds you will find it to be very nice. If you have speeds like my current Verizon 1.48 down and 0.7 up you probably will hate it.