Microsoft’s VP Scott Manchester on Cloud PCs & Hybrid Work in 2025

End-user computing (EUC) has shifted dramatically from the days of bulky desktops and locally installed applications. The average office worker now spends 90% of their workday in a web browser.

As hybrid working and browser-based tools become the norm, the focus is no longer on the device, but on how work gets done across distributed teams.

Techopedia unpacks how Microsoft and IGEL are rethinking the role of devices, browsers, and cloud PCs in the modern enterprise, without adding more complexity.

Table of Contents Table of Contents

1. Key Takeaways
2. The Shifting Nature of Work
3. The Reality of IT Challenges
4. Windows 365 Cloud PC: Why Now?
5. The Industries Making the Move
6. The Bottom Line
7. FAQs
8. References

Show Full Guide

Table of Contents

1. Key Takeaways
2. The Shifting Nature of Work
3. The Reality of IT Challenges
Show Full Guide
4. Windows 365 Cloud PC: Why Now?
5. The Industries Making the Move
6. The Bottom Line
7. FAQs
8. References

The Shifting Nature of Work

At IGEL’s Now & Next conference in Miami, Mark Templeton, best known for leading Citrix, delivered a wake-up call for enterprises when he said, “The browser is now the computer.” It was a timely update to Sun Microsystems’ historic line, “The network is the computer,” and captured a simple truth. The web browser has become the center of most employees’ digital workflows.

As Windows 11 forces many to reconsider their hardware strategy, IGEL presents an alternative that does not replace thousands of machines. Instead, organizations can repurpose existing devices, avoid unnecessary e-waste, and reduce operational costs.

I spoke with Scott Manchester, Vice President of Windows 365 and Azure Virtual Desktop at Microsoft, about the future of endpoint computing. Scott described himself as a leader “with his head in the clouds and feet firmly planted in the realities of enterprise IT.”

That balance came through strongly in our conversation, which focused on the collaboration between Microsoft and IGEL and the business realities driving the move toward cloud PCs and virtual desktops.

Manchester remembered when these changes clicked for him:

“It was just after the IGEL event in Germany. I took the trip home, and that was around the same time COVID came to the States. That was when we were starting to build Windows 365. We were building it while we were living the experience.”

“Traditional virtualization often strips away the personal part of computing. With Windows 365, we wanted something end users would love.”

That led to a rethink of how devices are managed and experienced. Scott explained:

“Most orgs had separate workflows for managing VDI and physical endpoints. But with Windows 365, we manage the Cloud PC the same way we manage your physical PC.”

The Reality of IT Challenges

Manchester was candid about the complexity IT teams still face when trying to understand the actual value of artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud. He said: “As a community, we must help organizations find the right solution to meet their needs.”

This is where IGEL’s offering becomes especially relevant, he further explained:

“They build these thin clients that let you leverage older hardware or run in locked-down environments. One example we saw today was IGEL OS being used to recover from an outage or a security incident.”

He also pointed to IGEL’s integrations with Intune and their hypervisor management capabilities, which allow legacy applications to run on top of their OS. “They’re definitely on the cutting edge,” he noted.

Run Old #Windows on NEW Hardware? #IGEL‘s #Hypervisor Solution! Learn more as James Millington of @IGEL_Technology quickly explains. #NowAndNext25 pic.twitter.com/btbRPY9IsW
— VMblog (@vmblog) April 3, 2025

Windows 365 Cloud PC: Why Now?

When I asked how cloud PCs fit into a Windows 11 migration strategy, Scott Manchester pointed to two dimensions of flexibility that physical PCs can’t offer. He said:

“One is the ability to flex compute. With Windows 365, if you need more RAM or storage, just log off and back on. You’ve got a bigger machine. The second is organizational flexibility. You can spin up or down 500 cloud PCs for seasonal workers at the click of a button.”

He went on to explain that this has profound implications for IT operations.

“Before Windows 365, you’d have teams managing VDI separately from endpoint devices. That creates overhead and room for human error. With Cloud PC, you manage it all in one place.”

Manchester also emphasized user familiarity: “Users get the same experience they’re used to with a physical device. They can reboot it, be admins or standard users, and know they’re not sharing resources. It’s just them on that machine.”

However, he acknowledged that some teams approach the tech with skepticism and a legacy mindset. “I think people might enter into an analysis of it with some trepidation,” he said. “But once they put their hands on it and see how consistent the experience is, it changes things.”

Scott Manchester believes that:

“When people see they can double compute power with one click, or reduce cost by sharing licenses across shifts, that’s when it clicks.”

The Industries Making the Move

Cloud PCs are no longer a fringe concept in healthcare, finance, and the federal government.

“These are the verticals that have traditionally leveraged virtualization,” Manchester said. “And we’re seeing some of the most critical workloads in the world moving to this model.”

One announcement at the event was Windows 365 Frontline Shared, designed for ad hoc use across shift workers. “Say you have 20 accountants, but only five need to run a certain secured app simultaneously. You only need five licenses,” Manchester explained.

“A nurse or doctor might work in shifts, but the hospital is open 24 hours a day. You can buy one license and apply it to those three users who work in shifts. That’s the innovation we’re bringing to specific use cases.”

The Bottom Line

One of the big takeaways here was that our conversation was not about product features or deployment strategies. It was a snapshot of how the line between physical and virtual blurs in modern enterprise computing. And how Microsoft and IGEL respond with practical, hands-on solutions.

A cloud PC model might be the answer if you’re looking at Windows 11 migrations, remote work policies, sweating assets, or simply trying to reduce IT complexity without sacrificing experience.

Reducing the complexity of modern EUC is not about reinventing everything. It is about making the most of what you already have and preparing for what comes next.

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