Tag Archives: Windows 10

Windows 10 Enterprise Changes

From 1 August 2016 there are changes to the Windows 10 edition line-up: you can still buy Windows 10 Enterprise but there are now also E3 and E5 editions. So, what’s the story here? Well, Windows 10 Enterprise E3 is the new name for Windows 10 Enterprise + SA, and Windows 10 Enterprise E5 adds Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection on top of E3. Both editions are available on per user or a per device basis – check out this page for the details: http://bit.ly/2bgmb2L.

Then take a look at page 37 of the August 2016 Product Terms document to see the new SKUs that are available. Of particular note are the Add-ons which allow you to move between editions and licensing models. This means that you can go from E3 per device to E5 per device, or from E3 per device to E3 per user, or from E3 per user to E5 per user, and you’ll find the rules for these Add-on licences detailed on page 41. In addition, if organisations have fully paid licences for Windows with active SA then they can purchase E3/E5 From SA User SLs instead of SA to move to a user licensing model for Windows (page 42).

It’s also worth mentioning at this point that there are some changes with MDOP with two of the components (Application Virtualization (App-V) and User Environment Virtualization (UE-V)) now part of Windows 10 Enterprise. This Microsoft site is useful for the detail on this: http://bit.ly/2aYEcAi.

Windows 10 Enterprise E3 in CSP

Microsoft announce that Windows 10 Enterprise E3 will be available through the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program in autumn 2016. This means that customers will be able to buy a subscription to Windows 10 as part of a managed service with pricing at $7 a month.

Find Microsoft’s full blog post here: http://bit.ly/29FKuUc.

Windows, EMS and ECS Name Changes

It’s all change! Firstly, Microsoft announce that Windows 10 Enterprise will be renamed to Windows 10 Enterprise E3, and that Windows 10 Enterprise E5 will be introduced which includes Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection.

Then, Enterprise Mobility Suite will be renamed Enterprise Mobility + Security and, again, there will be E3 and E5 flavours of this.

There’s a good diagram here (http://bit.ly/29Cc0Er) which shows you the components of both of these editions.

And finally, the Enterprise Cloud Suite will be called Secure Productive Enterprise E3/E5 containing the relevant Office 365, EM+S and Windows 10 Enterprise plans.

Find the Microsoft announcement here: http://bit.ly/29ur3we.

Microsoft Volume Licensing Newsletter – January 2016

The Microsoft VL Newsletter for January 2016 is released, with a focus on Windows 10.

There’s a reminder of the Windows 10 offerings available through Volume Licensing programs as well as links to the (very good) Licensing Guide, a useful Deployment Guide, and a Windows SA per User at-a-glance two-pager.

Read the archives and sign up for future issues here: http://bit.ly/1SPW0N8.

Windows 10 Branches and SA

What Windows Branch are you entitled to if you don’t renew the Software Assurance on Windows 10?

Page 42 of the December 2015 Product Terms confirms that customers must uninstall Windows 10 Enterprise Current Branch, but if they have perpetual rights to Windows Enterprise then they may install the Long Term Servicing Branch version that was current at the time the SA ended.

End of sales for OEM Windows 8.1 – October 2016

Usually when Microsoft launch a new flavour of Windows the previous version is available preinstalled on new machines for at least another two years. It’s different with Windows 10!

Windows 7 Professional will be available until 31 October 2016 (4 years after the launch of Windows 8) while Windows 8.1 will also be available until 31 October 2016 but that’s a mere 15 months after the launch of Windows 10.

The end of Windows 8 comes even quicker at 30 June 2016. Microsoft’s Windows lifecycle fact sheet has all the details: http://bit.ly/1MGslQR.

Microsoft Hosting and CSP Newsletter

The October 2015 Microsoft Hosting and Cloud Service Provider Newsletter is out.

There are two things of particular note if licensing is your thing; firstly, there’s a recap of the news that Microsoft will soon allow customers to bring their own Windows Server and Windows 10 licences to Azure, and the FAQ is worth a look (http://bit.ly/1jeqDj6).

Then there’s an announcement of a new digital workshop if you want to gain a better understanding of the CSP licensing model which is free for partners to register for (http://bit.ly/1k4TzdG).

Sign up for this free monthly newsletter here: http://bit.ly/1iVEvxV.

Windows 10 Activation

This is a useful page on the different ways that Windows 10 can be activated, ranging from the new “digital entitlement” when you’ve used the free upgrade to Windows 10, to the traditional product keys required when Windows 10 is purchased through a Volume Licensing agreement.

There’s also help on what to do when you need to activate after reinstalling Windows 10 or when you’ve made a hardware configuration change.

Read all about it here: http://bit.ly/1JMzIEG.

Windows 10 Servicing Options

There’s a jolly useful article published by Microsoft on the different servicing options for Windows 10. If you still haven’t got to grips with Current Branch, Current Branch for Business, and Long Term Servicing Branch then this article is worth a read: http://bit.ly/1OcDI7B.

There’s confirmation that Feature Upgrades will be published 2 or 3 times a year, and Service Updates (security fixes) will continue to be published monthly on Update (Patch) Tuesday. It’s also worth noting that all new releases, of either type, are cumulative so that installing them brings a device completely up to date.

MDOP 2015 available

Microsoft announce that MDOP 2015 is available for download from VLSC and MSDN. Changes include support for Windows 10 and this announcement gives you an overview of the other enhancements to the existing components: http://bit.ly/1LiLtX7.