Microsoft Slashes Price of Windows 7 Professional
Microsoft is offering a whopping 50 per cent discount on the Professional edition of Windows 7. It's an attempt to gain ground among smaller businesses, some of whom need more features than the home user but aren't big enough for large-scale licensing.
The firm has announced that customers of its "Open Value Subscription" licensing scheme will get upgrades to Windows 7 Professional for half-price until the end of June. They'll also qualify for a 50 per cent discount on Office 2010.
About: Open Value Subscription
"Open Value Subscription" is aimed at small and medium businesses (those with 5 to 500 employees) and allows customers to get bulk discounts on Microsoft software while still allowing flexibility over exactly what products they use and in what quantity.
That's in contrast to the licensing deals for larger businesses which usually involve paying a flat per-machine rate, regardless of which software is installed on each individual machine. (Source: informationweek.com)
Professional Edition Bridges Consumer-Enterprise Gap
In comparison to Home Premium (which is effectively the standard consumer edition), the Professional edition of Windows 7 adds features such as file encryption, a Windows XP emulator for running older applications, and some limited control over the software employees run on a corporate network. It also allows the system to run through Windows Server.
However, Professional doesn't include some of the features available in the Enterprise edition, such as running virtual machines (which allows multiple users to use the same central computer simultaneously as if they had separate machines, cutting hardware costs), or the BitLocker system for encrypting entire drives.
Professional Pre-Installed On New Machines
Microsoft has been putting more effort into marketing the Professional edition with Windows 7, acknowledging it didn't serve the small business sector well with Vista.
MS, has however, struck several deals with manufacturers to have them sell new PCs with the Professional edition pre-installed. That's designed to appeal to firms that want more advanced features but only buy new machines on a one-off basis when they get a new employee or need to replace an old computer.
The firm believes the Windows XP mode will be a selling point for companies that gave Vista a miss and so have never needed to replace XP-only applications. Removing that headache could persuade small businesses to make the leap to Windows 7 now, rather than wait until failing hardware leaves them no alternative. (Source: pcworld.com)
Most popular articles
- Which Processor is Better: Intel or AMD? - Explained
- How to Prevent Ransomware in 2018 - 10 Steps
- 5 Best Anti Ransomware Software Free
- How to Fix: Computer / Network Infected with Ransomware (10 Steps)
- How to Fix: Your Computer is Infected, Call This Number (Scam)
- Scammed by Informatico Experts? Here's What to Do
- Scammed by Smart PC Experts? Here's What to Do
- Scammed by Right PC Experts? Here's What to Do
- Scammed by PC / Web Network Experts? Here's What to Do
- How to Fix: Windows Update Won't Update
- Explained: Do I need a VPN? Are VPNs Safe for Online Banking?
- Explained: VPN vs Proxy; What's the Difference?
- Explained: Difference Between VPN Server and VPN (Service)
- Forgot Password? How to: Reset Any Password: Windows Vista, 7, 8, 10
- How to: Use a Firewall to Block Full Screen Ads on Android
- Explained: Absolute Best way to Limit Data on Android
- Explained: Difference Between Dark Web, Deep Net, Darknet and More
- Explained: If I Reset Windows 10 will it Remove Malware?
My name is Dennis Faas and I am a senior systems administrator and IT technical analyst specializing in cyber crimes (sextortion / blackmail / tech support scams) with over 30 years experience; I also run this website! If you need technical assistance , I can help. Click here to email me now; optionally, you can review my resume here. You can also read how I can fix your computer over the Internet (also includes user reviews).
We are BBB Accredited
We are BBB accredited (A+ rating), celebrating 21 years of excellence! Click to view our rating on the BBB.