Internal documents show Microsoft's plan to introduce cloud-based subscription model for Windows 11

The FTC investigation concerning Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision-Blizzard currently estimated at US$68.7 billion has uncovered a series of internal documents that, among other business-related strategies, delineates plans to “move Windows 11 increasingly to the Cloud.” The Verge reports that this course of action is included in a slide titled “Modern Life strategy and opportunity” dated June 2022.

As a prime ambition, Microsoft seeks to “empower people to make the most of their time.” The goal is to serve over 1.5 billion people daily across all stacks. Apart from the priorities set for the previous fiscal year, Microsoft mentions three “main long term needle-moving opportunities,” the first of which focuses on the cloud-based subscription model. This certainly is not a new concept for Microsoft, as the company already has had the Office 365 software-as-a-service with monthly and yearly subscriptions for some years now. More recently, Microsoft introduced the Windows 365 Boot virtualized OS service connected to the cloud, and this is to be expanded by enabling “a full Windows operating system streamed from the cloud to any device.” In order to expand functionality and improve the digital user experience, Microsoft will also employ AI-powered services.

A second opportunity is presented through the development of custom silicon used for the Surface product lineup. In this respect, Microsoft already partnered with Qualcomm to produce exclusive Arm-based SoCs that will soon be integrated in the Surface Pro X 2-in-1 laptops. Last but not least, Microsoft will explore “inorganic growth opportunities” via partnerships or acquisitions. Depending on the FTC verdict, Microsoft could become a gaming powerhouse with the Activision-Blizzard acquisition. The company also has its sights set on several AI projects and the popular chat app Discord.

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