What’s new
Microsoft has introduced TWAIN scanner redirection for Windows 365 as a public preview capability. Supported scanners attached to a user’s local Windows device can be made available inside the Cloud PC session using high-level redirection, so scanning workflows no longer have to stay tied to the physical desktop.
How it works
High-level redirection exposes the local TWAIN scanner to applications running on the Cloud PC rather than passing raw device traffic through the session. From the user’s perspective, a scan initiated in a Cloud PC application captures from the locally connected scanner and the resulting document lands in the remote session, ready to be saved or shared. As with any preview capability, behaviour can change and the feature could be modified or withdrawn before it reaches general availability.
Why it matters for IT admins
Scanner access has long been a friction point for teams moving document-heavy workflows to Cloud PCs, particularly in finance, healthcare, legal and records management. This preview gives admins a supported path to test those scenarios instead of relying on workarounds or keeping a physical endpoint in the loop.
- Validate your specific scanner models and TWAIN drivers before promising support to users.
- Test the applications that will consume the scanner, not just the device connection itself.
- Keep preview testing to a pilot group and avoid depending on it for production processes.
- Review your redirection policies so the capability is enabled only where it is genuinely needed.
- Track updates as the feature progresses toward general availability and adjust configuration accordingly.
Recommended next steps
Stand up a small pilot of Cloud PCs with representative hardware, run through real scanning tasks end to end, and document which devices and drivers behave reliably. Feed those findings into your redirection policy design now so that broad enablement is straightforward once the feature moves out of preview.
Source: Microsoft Learn. Summarised independently — check the source for the latest detail.