The new product is called User Experience Virtualization or UE-V and it maintains records of users’ settings and configurations so whether they log in via virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) or Remote Desktop Services (RDS), their Windows 7 or 8 operating system and application settings will appear as they were customized.

Before, whenever users logged in from different machines they would have to manually configure the settings and select the options they prefer. These preferences can be shared among virtual and traditional application deployment, Microsoft says.

The goal of UE-V is to make users’ experiences uniform no matter how they connect to virtual platforms. So if a worker generally uses a desktop at a corporate site but sometimes logs in from home, the virtual desktop and application settings will be the same regardless, down to details like the wallpaper picture.

The upside for businesses is that users spend no time configuring the machines to their preferences so they are ready to be as productive as possible immediately upon booting up, Microsoft says.