Virtualization and cloud services are nothing new, most servers and software suites these days are based on that. For business users, a virtual OS already exists, but for consumers and end-users this is a relatively new thing. And as it seems, Microsoft is working exactly on that as it opened up job positioning for it. 

So in short, virtual Windows operating systems, managed through its Azure servers, reports ZDnet:

Microsoft is currently calling the coming virtualization service "Cloud PC." Cloud PC won't replace locally installed Windows (and Office) -- for the foreseeable future, anyway. It will be an option for customers who want to use their own Windows PCs made by Microsoft and/or other PC makers basically like thin clients, with Windows, Office and potentially other software delivered virtually by Microsoft.

I found a job description posted June 5 for a program manager for Microsoft's Cloud PC team on the company's careers site. The description of Cloud PC isn't super-detailed -- or surprising to anyone following Microsoft's virtualization strategy.

"Microsoft Cloud PC is a strategic, new offering that is built on top of Windows Virtual Desktop to delivering Desktop as a Service. At its core, Cloud PC provides business customers a modern, elastic, cloud-based Windows experience and will allow organizations to stay current in a more simplistic and scalable manner," the job description says.

Microsoft is planning to make Cloud PC a Microsoft-365-powered experience that is managed by Microsoft and sold for a flat per user price, the job description says.

Microsoft is working on virtual Windows OS via Azure cloud for 2021