Offer to upgrade to Windows 10 free for the first year will not be available to businesses

One of the most important announcements made by Microsoft at the event on January 21st was that users with Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 would be able to upgrade to Windows 10 for free for the first year, to help the Windows user base move more quickly to the latest version, and thus facilitate the delivery of future updates or the development of new applications.

However, now Microsoft has released new details of this offer, specifying that it will be available only for end consumers, not for businessesThis means that computers using the Enterprise edition of Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 will have to pay the corresponding cost of a Windows 10 license to upgrade to the latest version of the operating system.

The exception to this rule will be companies that have an active software warranty agreement in volume licenses, which may update to the latest version of Windows for as long as those contracts are in effect (similar to how someone with an Office 365 subscription can upgrade to the latest version of Office for as long as that subscription is in effect).

Unfortunately, we still have no official information about the value of each of the Windows 10 licenses, nor which ones will be the different editions that will be put on sale once the operating system is released.

Different update rates for different needs

Along with announcing the conditions under which the promotion of the free update for one year will apply, Microsoft is also revealing what will be the different operating system update rates that companies will be able to choose from.

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Let&39;s remember that Redmond&39;s plan is for Windows 10 to be the last major release of the operating system, and that from then on, incremental updates will be delivered , more frequently released, and free for end users (eg, Windows 10.1, 10.2, etc). Well, Microsoft also understands that this accelerated rate of updates is impossible to impose on many companies, because companies tend to prefer stability in their software environments, rather than receive new features and functions so frequently that they can cause them problems. into their day-to-day workflow, or force them to invest in hours of training for employees to learn how to use new features."

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Thinking of all those companies that have an aversion to big changes in software, Microsoft will offer the so-called Long Term Servicing branches, an update plan to which companies can subscribe, and that will only include critical and security patches during the 10 years of mainstream and extended support of the operating system."

For businesses interested in receiving new features in Windows 10, Microsoft will offer a separate plan, called ">Enjoy new Windows features after these are available been implemented in the end-consumer market, i.e. Microsoft will release new features of Windows 10 on end-consumer PCs first, and once there it has been proven that there are no, or already, compatibility or other issues have been resolved, they will just be published for corporate users.

Meanwhile, end users who take advantage of the offer to upgrade to Windows 10 for free from Windows 7 or 8.1 will be the first to receive all updates , both critical and security, as well as new functions and features.

Via | Mary Jo Foley