By Ben Ward, Field CTO UK/I at Recast Software
2025 is going to be the year where Microsoft completes its clean sweep across the EUC landscape.
Let’s face it, over the past 4 years or so, Microsoft have either created or matured some of the leading solutions in the world of the Digital Workspace, including:
AVD,
Windows 365,
Intune,
Windows 11
From a broader Digital Workspace ecosystem perspective, you’re either complementing Microsoft or rapidly becoming a niche player. 2025 is where this trend reaches its climax.
Windows 365’s Growing Dominance
In 2025, Windows 365 is likely to establish itself as Microsoft’s preferred solution for mainstream use, solidifying its place as the preferred platform over Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD). This shift reflects Microsoft’s strategy to make cloud PCs accessible and easy to manage, especially for small and mid-sized enterprises.
Predictions for Windows 365 include:
- Unified Management Across Devices: The integration of Windows 365 with Microsoft 365 admin tools will continue to mature, simplifying cloud and physical device management.
- Evolving Pricing Models: Microsoft needs to make pricing more attractive for the wider market, so don’t be surprised if Microsoft introduce more flexible or tiered subscription plans to accommodate diverse user needs.
- Enhanced Integration with Security Tools: Expect Windows 365 to build more native connections with Microsoft’s security stack, from endpoint protection to compliance tools, to ensure robust, secure cloud PC deployments.
AVD, on the other hand, will become a specialized solution, ideal for organizations with intricate infrastructure needs, including:
- Advanced networking and image customization
- Precise compliance demands that call for high control
Unified management especially raises some interesting opportunities. For a long time, the industry has been used to having two distinct application management models for both SBC / VDI models and physical Windows PCs and laptops. Windows 365 however is simply a cloud-based PC. This means that it is now possible to manage your entire Windows estate across cloud and device with a single set of management tools.
In this case, Intune along with an ecosystem partner such as Recast Software’s Application Workspace (formerly Liquit Workspace) makes perfect sense.
The End of App-V: Moving Toward Native and Hybrid Application Delivery
A lot of the customer conversations I’ve been having this year have been about the impending EOL of App-V in 2026. Many organisations are using App-V to help them with their non-persistent Citrix and Horizon estates. With EOL on the horizon (not sorry!), a lot of these orgs are looking for either replacement of new models of application delivery.
This transition could accelerate the adoption of Windows 365, which is well-positioned to support modern application delivery.
Predicted changes in application delivery include:
- Cloud-Centric Application Management: Many organizations will migrate to cloud-native solutions for seamless deployment, leaning on Windows 365’s application management features.
- Hybrid Solutions: Expect growth in hybrid application models, blending cloud, on-premises, and virtualized applications, giving IT teams greater flexibility.
- Expanded Tooling for Virtualization: Vendors may step up to offer new tools that complement Microsoft’s offerings, allowing organizations to customize their delivery methods to suit various user needs.
Windows 10 End-of-Life Drives Application Optimization
As Windows 10 fades out, organizations will have to face legacy application issues head-on. In 2025, expect to see companies focusing on:
- Portfolio Rationalization: More systematic audits and application testing to retire redundant applications, and key applications and containerise those they can’t move or remediate
- Strategic Moves to Windows 11: As they transition to Windows 11, companies will have opportunities to enhance compatibility, streamline deployment, and support diverse device types.
- Unified User Experiences: Across endpoints, businesses will prioritize creating consistent user experiences while maintaining compatibility and security.
Intune as the Central Player in Unified Endpoint Management
In 2025, Intune’s role as the leader in Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) will grow, spurring a more integrated ecosystem with added focus on security and compliance.
Anticipated developments for Intune include:
- Expanded Ecosystem: Third-party solutions will continue to grow around Intune, enhancing its reporting, automation, and analytics capabilities. Recast Software is leading the charge when it comes to building a best of breed device and application management platform around Intune
- Zero Trust and Advanced Threat Detection: Zero Trust will be a baseline requirement, with Intune’s advanced threat detection capabilities evolving to meet these demands.
- Simplified Operations and Unified Management: Intune will provide a more seamless experience for IT administrators, centralizing device and application management and reducing operational overhead.
Key EUC Trends to Watch in 2025
With these shifts, several themes will dominate EUC in 2025:
- Streamlined, Cloud-First Management: Windows 365 and Intune will drive a more efficient, cloud-centric approach.
- Deeper Ecosystem Integration: Microsoft’s emphasis on unifying its services will simplify management across all endpoints. Also, Microsoft’s open approach to other vendors will ensure that the rich ecosystem of EUC vendors continues to flourish
- Modernized Application Delivery Models: The transition away from legacy tech will fuel innovation, with new delivery and virtualization methods emerging and an integrated approach to application management driven by tools like Application Workspace (link to Application Workspace | Recast Software)
- Heightened Security Standards: Security, underpinned by Zero Trust, will be a non-negotiable across EUC, especially as more workloads shift to the cloud.
Organizations that proactively adapt to these trends will be best positioned to capitalize on the simplified management, robust security, and flexibility that Microsoft’s EUC direction offers. By building forward-looking strategies, companies can navigate 2025’s EUC landscape with a stronger, more integrated approach to endpoint and application management.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
As the Application Workspace Field CTO for the UK and Ireland, Ben Ward leverages his deep experience in developing relationships and spreading understanding of the revolutionary end-to-end application management platform delivered by Recast Software.
Ben brings more than a decade in EUC (End User Computing) and digital workspace technologies from similar roles within other major vendors, such as IGEL Technologies, VMware, and Citrix across the EMEA region. This proven ability to drive engagement across customers, partners, and technology vendors will help fuel the organization’s continued growth through the region’s market.
Ben believes strongly in the power of technology to drive forward business outcomes, and to also make the world of work more human and more fulfilling for employees and businesses. Work and access to work tools is at the core of society, and by making that access as seamless as possible, we can further drive brilliant outcomes for our communities.
Ben is a proud member of the wider EUC community and a passionate advocate for new ways of working. His passion for meeting new people and forming partnerships has him constantly reaching out to anyone ready to share insights or perspectives on new challenges, approaches, and solutions in the broader EUC space.
