It was recently leaked that Windows 10X will be coming this year, most likely “late Spring.” Windows 10X is essentially Microsoft’s answer to Google Chrome OS, a lightweight OS designed to run cloud-based/web-based apps. So, what does that mean for all of the legacy Windows applications that your business relies on every day?
If you want to use Windows 10X and still run your legacy Windows applications, there are going to be some issues, at least for a while. Here’s what TechRepublic had to say about it:
By building an OS from the ground up, Microsoft has been able to significantly redesign Windows. But that means it won’t run all your old software. The original plan for Windows 10X was to use a set of application containers to isolate new and old code, supporting Win32 apps alongside newer UWP apps while keeping applications, OS, and data all isolated, and supporting MSI, MSIX and APPX installers. But things have changed.
That’s resulted in a delay for native Win32 support, with only UWP apps running on the initial releases. Microsoft is planning to add support for legacy applications at some point in the future, but if you’re thinking of working with Windows 10X at the start you’re going to need to support UWP, using Microsoft’s WinRT APIs. Alternatively, your apps will need to be web apps that can be packaged as Progressive Web Apps (PWAs), installed from the Windows Store or from inside Microsoft’s Edge browser.
Basically, a lot of applications simply are not going to work with Windows 10X until native Win32 support is added, which will likely be 1-2 more years. Microsoft has known about this problem for a while and is working on something called Project Reunion to help address this by creating a path to modernizing apps. BUT…
Not all applications will be able to take advantage of Project Reunion or the Windows Store. That might be because they’re needed now rather than in a year or two, and are unable to wait for the APIs they need to be shipped. Businesses and schools will find it easier to take advantage of Microsoft’s alternate option for their code than consumers, as IT departments will be able to configure the cloud-hosted Windows Virtual Desktops to deliver remote apps to users, using the UWP Remote Desktop tool to deliver user interfaces to Windows 10X devices, while the code runs on a managed virtual machine on Azure.
If you’re thinking that this sounds like you won’t be able to use a lot of your business-critical applications with Windows 10X for quite some time, you’re right. And if you’re thinking that there must be a better way – you’re right again!
Luckily there’s an easy way to maintain access to all of your legacy Windows applications with Windows 10X by utilizing Cameyo. Cameyo is the secure virtual application delivery platform for any Digital Workspace, and enables you to deliver all of your business-critical Windows and web applications to any device, from the browser. Not only can you enable your people to utilize Windows 10X while still giving them secure access to the legacy Windows apps that Windows 10X doesn’t support, but you can do the same for ALL of your people, regardless of OS.
Do you have some people on Macs, Chromebooks, or maybe even some older systems still running Windows 7? No problem. Any device with an HTML browser can easily and securely access all of their Windows and web apps from one place with Cameyo. And your people continue to get access to the full desktop version of the software they’re used to, just running in a browser tab.
Even better – with Cameyo you can be up and running in hours, not weeks or months. For example, Klarahill was able to deploy Cameyo in just 3 hours (see the case study here, and the rest of our case studies here).
You can see for yourself how easy it is by starting your free trial here, where you can see how simple it is to publish your first application within just 10 minutes. You can also watch a quick demo video here. Or if you’d like a personalized demo to see how this could work in your environment, request a demo here. We’re here to help every step of the way, so let us know if you have any questions.