Microsoft built a product for this pattern. It is sold under the Windows 365 Frontline name, which Microsoft has renamed Windows 365 Flex. This guide covers what the service is, how Dedicated and Shared modes differ, how to size and price it, and what IT teams must plan before deployment.
Key Takeaways
- Flex fits users who don't need an always-on personal Cloud PC; licenses track concurrent use.
- Dedicated mode keeps a persistent personal PC; Shared mode resets between users.
- Size to peak simultaneous sessions, not headcount.
- Intune, Entra ID, Conditional Access and Defender still carry the security load.
What Is Windows 365 Flex?
Windows 365 Flex is a Cloud PC license model that shares capacity across users who work different shifts or hours, instead of assigning one persistent PC per person.
Naming: Frontline, Flex and "Frontline Flex"
Microsoft announced Frontline in April 2023. In the week of May 4, 2026, Microsoft's release notes show it renamed to Windows 365 Flex, with product, licensing and capabilities unchanged.
"Windows 365 Frontline Flex" is not a separate SKU. Expect both names in older documentation and partner content.
Not the same as Microsoft 365 F1/F3
Flex is a Cloud PC product. It is separate from Microsoft 365 F1/F3 licenses and from Teams frontline features. Microsoft treats it separately from the frontline-plan eligibility rules, so an F3 license does not give you a Cloud PC.
How it differs from Windows 365 Enterprise
- Enterprise: each Cloud PC is assigned to one person, with anytime access and a persistent, personalized experience.
- Flex: capacity is shared across users who work at different times, priced per license.
Prerequisites
Flex capacity is bought separately from the underlying requirements:
- Windows Enterprise (Windows E3 is the stated requirement)
- Microsoft Intune
- Microsoft Entra ID P1
- Users placed in the provisioning policy's Entra security group
Microsoft 365 E3/E5 and Business Premium, among other bundles, include these prerequisites. They don't replace buying Flex licenses.
Networking and join options:
- Entra join with Microsoft-hosted networking needs no customer Azure subscription
- Your own network requires an Azure subscription
- Hybrid join needs an Azure network connection plus domain controller connectivity
Dedicated supports multi-region selection; Shared requires a specific region. Shared is limited to the Azure Global Cloud. Dedicated for GCC and GCC High was announced in September 2025.
Dedicated vs. Shared Mode
Dedicated mode
Each assigned user gets a personal, persistent Cloud PC. One license allows up to three personal PCs but only one concurrent session. Inactive PCs power off.
Good fits:
- Predictable recurring shifts
- Follow-the-sun teams
- Part-time staff and contractors who need their own apps, settings and files between sessions
Shared mode
Shared mode provides one Cloud PC per license for an authorized group, with one active user per PC at a time. At sign-out, the local profile and roaming-profile cache are deleted. Snapshot-based reset is a separate feature still labeled preview.
Good fits:
- Kiosks and warehouse or retail task stations
- Short call-center tasks
- Training labs and temporary workers who need few applications
Shared defaults:
- Idle sessions sign out after 15 minutes
- Disconnected sessions end after 30 minutes, returning the PC to the pool
Handling persistence in Shared mode
A reset desktop doesn't mean lost work if you plan for it:
- OneDrive: Known Folder Move redirects Desktop, Documents and Pictures.
- SharePoint and web apps: store anything needed after sign-out.
- User Experience Sync: preserves Windows personalization, app settings and app data via per-user cloud storage. It is not backup or disaster recovery.
- Windows 365 Cloud Apps: delivers individual apps instead of a full desktop. It requires Flex Shared; Enterprise licenses don't qualify.
Choosing a mode
| Factor | Enterprise | Flex Dedicated | Flex Shared |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assignment | One PC per person | Personal PC per user | Pooled PC, one user at a time |
| Access | Anytime | Scheduled, concurrency-limited | Brief, occasional |
| Persistence | Full | Full | Local data cleared at sign-out |
| Best for | Daily full-time users | Recurring shifts | Task-based sessions |
Use these five questions to choose:
- How long are typical sessions?
- Do users need personalization between shifts?
- Must data persist on the local desktop?
- How many apps does each role need?
- How many people share the same station?
Long sessions and personalization point to Dedicated. Short, interchangeable tasks point to Shared.
Pricing, Licensing and Capacity Sizing
Current US list prices
Per Microsoft's pricing pages (as of November 3, 2026), Enterprise is priced per user per month and Flex per license per month. Prerequisite licenses are extra.
| Cloud PC (vCPU / RAM / storage) | Enterprise | Flex |
|---|---|---|
| 2 / 4 GB / 64 GB | $28 | $42 |
| 2 / 4 GB / 128 GB | $31 | $47 |
| 2 / 8 GB / 128 GB | $41 | $62 |
| 4 / 16 GB / 128 GB | $66 | $99 |
| 8 / 32 GB / 256 GB | $132 | $198 |
A Flex license costs about 50% more than an Enterprise seat of the same size. It pays off only when one license serves multiple people.
How capacity works
- Dedicated: licenses pool at the tenant level. One license supports up to three personal PCs and one concurrent session. Microsoft's example: nine employees, three working simultaneously, three licenses.
- Shared: one license provisions one shared PC with one active session. Ten licenses means ten shared PCs.
- Microsoft's connection report recommends licensing for peak usage and shows concurrency history.
Worked example (hypothetical)
A distribution center has 90 workers across three shifts of 30, with a 15-minute handoff overlap.
- Peak simultaneous sessions: 30, plus about 5 during handoff = 35.
- Add a 10% buffer: roughly 39 licenses.
- At the 2 vCPU / 4 GB / 128 GB size ($47): 39 × $47 = $1,833 per month.
- Enterprise for all 90 users at $31: $2,790 per month.
Flex looks cheaper here, but it could reverse if shifts overlapped heavily. Also weigh storage, support, security tooling and admin effort, not just license price.
Elanco reported about 30% lower management costs for hourly workers. That is a customer-specific result, not a universal saving.
When Flex may not fit
- Users need unrestricted access at any hour
- Concurrency is consistently near headcount
- Workloads need features Flex doesn't support
- The environment suits Azure Virtual Desktop better
Check current limits before committing. Dedicated supports policy-based resize; Shared can't resize.
Microsoft's own documentation conflicts on cross-region disaster recovery for Flex, so confirm it in writing. The concurrency buffer is unavailable for Shared and GPU Cloud PCs.
Deployment, Security and Ongoing Management
Intune provisioning workflow
- Map user groups and access patterns, then create Entra security groups (nested groups aren't supported).
- In Intune, go to Devices > Provision Cloud PCs > Provisioning policies > Create policy.
- Select Flex, then Dedicated or Shared.
- Choose join type and network: Microsoft-hosted or your own Azure network connection.
- Pick region, gallery or custom image, and language.
- Assign groups and set size. Shared also needs a friendly name and PC count.
- Review, create and validate provisioning.
Preload critical apps in the base image. In Shared mode, user-installed apps aren't retained, so push apps through device-targeted deployment.
Security baseline
- Conditional Access isn't configured by default. Apply matching policies to both Windows 365 and Windows Cloud Login apps.
- Require Entra MFA and Intune compliance, and use Defender for Endpoint risk signals.
- Apply Intune security baselines and least-privilege admin roles.
- Windows 11 gallery images enable HVCI and Credential Guard by default; you maintain third-party apps in custom images.
- Keep user data in OneDrive or SharePoint, not on the Cloud PC.
Microsoft's baseline docs don't establish a Flex-specific app-control allowlist, so design that layer yourself.
Ongoing operations
- Watch concurrent connections and the maximum-limit warnings in the Flex report.
- Tune idle and disconnect limits.
- Plan shift handoffs so overlap doesn't exhaust capacity.
- Verify Shared cleanup behavior after image changes.
- Offboard users promptly and keep runbooks and architecture documents current.
Teams without cloud desktop specialists often bring in help. TechSogna, a Microsoft Partner and Authorized Nerdio Partner, assesses, designs, deploys, documents and co-manages Windows 365 and Azure Virtual Desktop environments during business hours.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Microsoft Teams frontline?
It refers to Teams capabilities and licensing for frontline workers. Windows 365 Flex is a separate Cloud PC licensing and delivery model.
How much does a Windows 365 license cost?
Microsoft's US list prices run from $42 per Flex license per month for the smallest size, upward by configuration. Final cost also depends on prerequisites and any support services.
What is the difference between Dedicated and Shared mode?
Dedicated preserves a personal environment per user. Shared provides pooled PCs for short sessions where the local profile is deleted at sign-out.
How many users can share a Flex license?
It depends on the mode. Dedicated allows up to three personal PCs per license with one concurrent session; Shared provisions one shared PC per license.
Can Flex Cloud PCs be managed with Intune?
Yes. Intune is required, and you manage Flex alongside other Cloud PCs and physical endpoints through provisioning policies, apps, compliance and security settings.
Can Flex and Windows 365 Enterprise be used together?
Both can be managed in Intune in one tenant. Microsoft's public documentation doesn't clearly confirm same-user licensing compatibility, so verify with Microsoft before mixing models for one user.
