Assign multiple Cloud PCs to a user

Applies to: Windows 365 Flex dedicated

Why assign multiple Cloud PCs to one user?

Some users need more than one Cloud PC because a single environment might not support every workload, configuration, or security boundary they need. Providing separate Cloud PCs lets users isolate workloads, configurations, and security boundaries while continuing to use centrally managed Windows 365 resources.

Common scenarios include:

  • Separate development and test environments: One Cloud PC can be used for daily development, while another is reserved for testing builds, scripts, policies, or application changes.

  • Different project configurations: A developer working across multiple projects might require different operating-system images, tools, dependencies, network access, or security settings.

  • Privileged and standard work: Separate Cloud PCs can isolate administrative or sensitive tasks from regular productivity and development activity.

  • Parallel workloads: A second Cloud PC lets a developer run long builds, automated tests, or resource-intensive processes without interrupting work in the primary environment.

  • Customer or tenant separation: Dedicated environments can help prevent configurations, credentials, and project artifacts from overlapping across engagements.

Use either of the following methods to assign multiple Windows 365 Flex Dedicated Cloud PCs to the same user. Choose the method that best fits your IT admin workflow.

Prerequisites

You need Windows 365 Flex licenses. Customers who only have Windows 365 Enterprise licenses can't use this approach.

For the complete list of requirements, see Windows 365 requirements.

Note

When a user connects to two or more Cloud PCs at the same time, more than one Flex license will be used. The IT admin needs to plan for the expected level of concurrent usage accordingly to avoid running out of Flex licenses in their tenant.

Option 1: One provisioning policy with multiple assignments

Use this option when the user needs two Cloud PCs with the same configuration, such as the same image, region, and network.

Creation: Create one provisioning policy and multiple user groups with the same user in each group.

Assignment:  Assign the same provisioning policy to all user groups.

Steps:

  • Create two Microsoft Entra user security groups or Microsoft 365 Groups.

  • Add the same user to both groups.

  • Create a Windows 365 Flex Dedicated provisioning policy.

  • Add two assignments for the policy.

The user gets multiple Cloud PCs assigned. The two Cloud PCs appear with the same name in Windows App because they come from the same provisioning policy. A change to the provisioning policy will affect both Cloud PCs. The end user can change the display name of the Cloud PC in Windows App by renaming it. For more information, see Device actions in Windows App.

Example of option 1: Same provisioning policy assigned to two groups.

  1. Two user groups are created: 'DevUsers_Backend1' and 'DevUsers_Backend2'.

  2. User: 'Research User1' is added in group: 'DevUsers_Backend1'.

  3. User: 'Research User1' and 'Research User5' are added in group: 'DevUsers_Backend2'.

  4. Provisioning policy is created: 'Policy4BackendDev2'.

  5. 'Policy4BackendDev2' is assigned to both 'DevUsers_Backend1' and 'DevUsers_Backend2'.

Result: 'Research User1' will receive two Cloud PCs with the same configuration. 'Research User5' receives one Cloud PC.

Screenshot of the Policy4BackendDev2 provisioning policy Assignments tab, showing the DevUsers_Backend1 and DevUsers_Backend2 groups assigned the same Cloud PC size.

Screenshot of the Policy4BackendDev2 provisioning policy with the DevUsers_Backend1 assignment selected and the User preview pane listing Research User 1 and Research User 5.

Screenshot of the Policy4BackendDev2 provisioning policy with the DevUsers_Backend2 assignment selected and the User preview pane listing Research User 1.

Option 2: Multiple provisioning policies with one assignment each

Use this option when the user needs two Cloud PCs with different configurations, for example, a different region, ANC, or image.

Creation: Create multiple provisioning policies and one user group with the targeted users in the group.

Assignment: Assign more than one provisioning policy to the user group created above.

Steps:

  • Create one Microsoft Entra user security group or Microsoft 365 group.

  • Add the targeted users to the group.

  • Create multiple Windows 365 Flex Dedicated provisioning policies.

  • Assign the created multiple policies to the user group.

The user receives two Cloud PCs. The Cloud PCs appear with different names in Windows App because they come from different provisioning policies.

Example:

  1. One user group is created: 'DevUsers_Backend1'.

  2. Users: 'Research User1' and 'Research User5' are added to the group: 'DevUsers_Backend1'.

  3. Two provisioning policies are created: 'Policy4BackendDev1' and 'Policy4BackendDev2'.

  4. Both provisioning policies: 'Policy4BackendDev1' and 'Policy4BackendDev2' are assigned to the 'DevUsers_Backend1' user group.

Result: 'Research User1' and 'Research User5' each receive two Cloud PCs.

Screenshot of the Provision Cloud PCs page in the Microsoft Intune admin center, filtered to show the Policy4BackendDev1 and Policy4BackendDev2 provisioning policies.

Screenshot of the Policy4BackendDev1 provisioning policy with the User preview pane listing Research User 1 and Research User 5 as members with a Cloud PC.

Screenshot of the Policy4BackendDev2 provisioning policy assigned to the DevUsers_Backend1 group, with the User preview pane listing Research User 1 and Research User 5.

To learn more about Windows 365 provisioning, see Create provisioning policies for Windows 365.

To learn more about Microsoft Entra groups, see How to manage groups.

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