Self-service
Expose the capability, not the operating system.
Most people do not need a desktop. They need one application, one portal or one task. XPC lets you publish exactly that, and nothing else, on a standard Windows PC.
The short answer
How do you give a user one application without giving them a desktop?
XPC replaces the Windows shell the user sees with a branded launcher that offers only what you publish — a single remote application, a web portal, a virtual desktop, or a short list of tasks. The user reaches the capability directly at power-on. Windows continues to run underneath for drivers, security and management, but it is not presented to the user, so there is no desktop, Start menu, settings or local file system to navigate or misuse.
1 click
To the capability
Power on, sign in, and the task is already in front of them.
Fewer tickets
Support impact
The desktop is where most endpoint support contacts begin.
3
Steps to deploy
Log in to the XPC Cloud Portal, install the MSI, enable XPC Mode.
Publish tasks, not desktops
A launcher entry can be a remote desktop, a published application, a browser-delivered portal, or a link into a line-of-business system. That means the endpoint can be shaped around a job — 'raise a claim', 'take an order', 'complete the shift report' — rather than around an operating system.
- Published applications and full desktops
- Web portals and internal line-of-business systems
- Role-specific lists rather than one generic desktop
- Central changes, applied without touching the PC
Why this reduces support contacts
Endpoint tickets cluster around what a user can reach: settings changed, software installed, files saved locally, browsers in unexpected states, shortcuts missing. Removing the desktop removes the whole category rather than trying to police it with policy.
Self-service without a self-service portal project
Because the launcher is configured centrally, adding a new capability to a group of endpoints is a change in the XPC Cloud Portal — not an internal development project and not a fleet-wide reimage.
Still a real Windows PC when it needs to be
XPC Mode is enabled per PC and can be turned off from the portal, so the same machine can be returned to a standard Windows desktop when a role or a support case requires it.
Support economics
The desktop is the ticket generator.
Publishing a capability rather than an operating system takes an entire class of endpoint support contacts off the queue.
For the record
What XPC is, and what it is not.
XPC is a lightweight Windows access shell that turns a Windows PC into a focused endpoint for whatever remote platform you already run — Citrix, RDP and Remote Desktop Services, Azure Virtual Desktop, Windows 365, VMware Horizon, Amazon WorkSpaces, Parallels RAS or a browser-delivered workspace — managed from the XPC Cloud Portal. Windows stays installed, patched and managed underneath.
- XPC is
- A Windows-native access shell that replaces the user-facing desktop with one locked, brandable access screen.
- Platform-agnostic: it presents and launches the vendor client, published application or workspace URL you approve.
- Centrally configured and reversible from the XPC Cloud Portal by an authorised administrator.
- Deployed as an MSI in three steps, on the Windows build you already ship.
- XPC is not
- Not a replacement operating system — Windows stays installed and fully managed.
- Not a hypervisor, connection broker or VDI platform.
- Not an RMM, patching or device-management suite; your existing tooling keeps running.
- Not endpoint security — your antivirus and EDR agents remain in place.
Questions we are asked
Straight answers.
Can a user reach more than one thing?
Yes. Publish as many entries as the role needs. The point is that the list is deliberate rather than an open desktop.
Is this the same as kiosk mode?
It solves a similar problem with far less engineering. Windows kiosk features require per-device configuration work and give you little branding or central control; XPC is a managed shell configured centrally. Our kiosk mode comparison covers the detail.
Do users still authenticate normally?
Yes. Identity is handled by your existing platform and remote client; XPC does not replace your authentication.
Can we change what a group of endpoints exposes later?
Yes, from the XPC Cloud Portal. No visit to the machine and no reimaging.
Keep reading
Related guides.
Windows thin client
Turn the Windows PCs you already own into focused thin-client endpoints — without replacing the operating system.
Read the guideCitrix endpoints
A focused, brandable Citrix access endpoint on existing Windows PCs, with Workspace app and its optimisations left intact.
Read the guideRDP & RDS endpoints
Give RDP and Remote Desktop Services users one locked screen that launches the right session, on hardware you already own.
Read the guideAVD & Windows 365
A focused endpoint for Azure Virtual Desktop and Windows 365 Cloud PCs, running on the Windows devices you already manage.
Read the guideOther VDI platforms
Horizon, Amazon WorkSpaces, Parallels RAS or a browser workspace — XPC presents whatever client or URL you approve.
Read the guideConvert a PC to a thin client
Extend the life of ageing PCs by turning them into access endpoints — a software change, not a procurement cycle.
Read the guideCompare the alternatives
XPC against IGEL, UniconOS, ThinScale, Dell ThinOS, LEAF OS, 10ZiG and Microsoft kiosk features.
See all comparisonsThin-client simplicity, without leaving Windows.
Five PCs are free forever. Log in to the XPC Cloud Portal, install the MSI, enable XPC Mode.