How ControlUp Offers a Digital Employee Experience (DEX) Solution for Microsoft 365 Cloud PCs

Digital Employee Experience (DEX) monitoring is the practice of assessing and optimizing the quality of employees’ interactions with the technology they use in their work environment.

It goes beyond traditional IT management by focusing on the end-to-end user experience—spanning hardware, software, network performance, and support systems—to ensure employees can work efficiently and effectively, regardless of location or device.

DEX monitoring involves collecting real-time data on device health, application performance, and user sentiment, then using that data to identify issues, predict problems, and implement solutions proactively.

In a world of hybrid and remote work, where employees rely heavily on cloud-based tools like Microsoft 365, DEX monitoring has become a critical discipline for maintaining productivity, reducing IT friction, and enhancing employee satisfaction.

The practice encompasses several key elements:

• Real-Time Visibility: Tracking metrics like application load times, system resource usage, and network latency to understand what’s happening across endpoints.
• Proactive Remediation: Addressing issues—such as slow performance or security risks—before they disrupt workflows, often through automation.
• User-Centric Insights: Incorporating qualitative feedback (e.g., surveys) alongside quantitative data to gauge how employees perceive their digital tools.
• End-to-End Management: Monitoring not just the core systems (like Cloud PCs) but also the connecting devices, networks, and applications to ensure a seamless experience.

For organizations using Microsoft 365 Cloud PCs—virtual desktops delivered via Windows 365—DEX monitoring is especially vital. These cloud-based environments promise flexibility and scalability, but their performance hinges on factors like endpoint conditions, internet reliability, and integration with Microsoft 365 apps (e.g., Teams, OneDrive). Without proper monitoring, IT teams can struggle to pinpoint whether issues stem from the Cloud PC, the user’s device, or the network, leading to downtime and frustration.

How ControlUp Offers a DEX Solution for Microsoft 365 Cloud PCs

ControlUp’s DEX solution for Microsoft 365 Cloud PCs is cloud-native, scalable, and agent-based (via a lightweight deployment), requiring no complex infrastructure.

Its focus on real-time data—updated every few seconds—outpaces traditional tools, while its automation reduces mean-time-to-resolution (MTTR). Recognized as a leader in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for DEX Management Tools and the most-used DEX solution in the 2024 “DaaS Like a Pro” report, ControlUp brings proven expertise to the table.

ControlUp stands out as a leading Digital Employee Experience management platform, offering a tailored solution for organizations leveraging Microsoft 365 Cloud PCs (Windows 365). By combining real-time monitoring, actionable insights, and automated remediation, ControlUp ensures that Cloud PCs deliver a consistent, high-quality experience while simplifying IT oversight. Here’s how ControlUp addresses DEX for Microsoft 365 Cloud PCs:

1. Comprehensive Real-Time Monitoring

ControlUp provides end-to-end visibility into the Cloud PC ecosystem, capturing telemetry from both the virtual desktop and the physical endpoint used to connect to it. For Microsoft 365 Cloud PCs, this means:
Cloud PC Health: Monitoring CPU, memory, disk usage, and session performance within the Windows 365 environment.

• Endpoint Insights: Tracking the connecting device’s performance—whether it’s a corporate laptop or a BYOD tablet—including Wi-Fi quality, latency, and resource constraints.
• Protocol Metrics: Analyzing remote protocol data (e.g., PCoIP or RDP) to identify bottlenecks in the connection between the endpoint and the Cloud PC.

This dual-layer approach ensures IT teams can see the full picture, not just the Cloud PC in isolation. For example, if a user reports lag in Teams, ControlUp can determine whether the issue lies with the Cloud PC’s resources, the user’s slow internet, or a misconfigured endpoint.

2. Proactive Troubleshooting and Remediation

ControlUp goes beyond monitoring by offering tools to fix issues in real time, a critical capability for Cloud PCs where downtime can disrupt remote work. Key features include:

• Automated Actions: Predefined scripts can restart services, clear caches, or adjust settings on the Cloud PC or endpoint, often resolving issues without manual intervention.
• Remote Assistance: IT admins can shadow or control a user’s Cloud PC session directly from the ControlUp console, speeding up support for Microsoft 365 app issues (e.g., Outlook crashes or SharePoint sync failures).
• Alerts and Triggers: Customizable alerts notify admins of performance dips—like high latency or application crashes—enabling preemptive action before users are impacted.

For instance, if a Cloud PC’s memory usage spikes during a large Excel operation, ControlUp can alert IT and suggest resource adjustments, ensuring uninterrupted productivity.

3. Integration with Microsoft 365 Ecosystem

ControlUp’s solution is deeply integrated with Microsoft 365, enhancing DEX across its applications:

• Teams Optimization: Real-time monitoring of Teams call quality, with dashboards showing jitter, packet loss, and latency, plus remediation suggestions for poor performance.
• OneDrive and SharePoint: Tracking file sync health and access times, ensuring users can collaborate seamlessly on Cloud PCs.
• Intune Synergy: The ControlUp Enrich plug-in brings DEX insights into Microsoft Intune, allowing admins to manage Cloud PCs and physical endpoints from a familiar interface, complete with performance metrics and troubleshooting tools.

This integration ensures that Microsoft 365 apps, running on Cloud PCs, perform reliably, with issues flagged and fixed in context.

4. Enhanced Security and Compliance

Security is paramount for Cloud PCs, which often host sensitive data. ControlUp bolsters DEX by:

• Risk Detection: Identifying non-compliant devices or vulnerabilities (e.g., outdated patches) that could compromise the Cloud PC environment.
• Data Protection: Monitoring OneDrive backups and file access patterns to ensure data integrity, with options to trigger restores if ransomware or deletions occur.
• User Experience Without Intrusion: For BYOD scenarios, ControlUp focuses on app-level telemetry without overstepping into personal data, balancing security and privacy.

5. User Experience Optimization

ControlUp’s DEX solution prioritizes the employee perspective:

• Performance Scoring: Assigns health scores to Cloud PCs and endpoints, helping IT prioritize optimization efforts.
• Sentiment Feedback: Optional surveys collect user input on their Cloud PC experience, complementing technical metrics with human insights.
• Hybrid Work Support: Whether employees use Cloud PCs from home, the office, or on the go, ControlUp ensures consistency by monitoring the “last mile” (e.g., home Wi-Fi) alongside the cloud infrastructure.

Real-World Impact

Consider a hybrid workforce using Windows 365 Cloud PCs to access Microsoft 365 apps. A sales rep in a remote location struggles with slow SharePoint uploads. ControlUp’s dashboard reveals high latency from their endpoint’s weak Wi-Fi signal. IT triggers a script to optimize the connection, restores performance, and advises the user on signal boosters—all without a helpdesk ticket. Meanwhile, the platform’s analytics confirm that 95% of Cloud PCs meet performance thresholds, validating the organization’s investment.

DEX monitoring is about ensuring technology empowers employees, not hinders them, and ControlUp delivers this for Microsoft 365 Cloud PCs with unmatched depth and agility.

By providing visibility into every layer of the Cloud PC experience, automating fixes, and integrating tightly with Microsoft 365, ControlUp transforms endpoint management into a proactive, employee-centric practice. For organizations aiming to maximize their Cloud PC investment, ControlUp isn’t just a tool—it’s a strategic partner in building a smarter, more secure digital workplace.