Windows 10 as a subscription?

J.J. Antequino

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Partners, one of the big announcements at WPC was around the offer of Windows Enterprise E3 via CSP!

In his blog post, Yusuf Mehdi wrote:

“Today, we are announcing Windows 10 Enterprise E3 in CSP. Starting this fall, businesses can get enterprise-grade security and management capabilities at just $7 a seat per month for the first time through the Cloud Solution Provider channel.”

Key features include:

• Increased Security: Offering the sophisticated security features of Windows 10 to help businesses secure sensitive data and identities, help ensure devices are protected from cybersecurity threats, give employees the freedom and flexibility to access sensitive data on a variety of devices, and help ensure controlled access to highly-sensitive data.
• Simplified Licensing & Deployment: Helping businesses lower up-front costs, eliminating the need for time-consuming device counting and audits, and making it easier to stay compliant with a subscription-based, per-user licensing model. This new offering allows businesses to easily move from Windows 10 Pro to Windows 10 Enterprise E3 without rebooting.
• Partner-managed IT: Configuring and managing devices by a partner experienced in Windows 10 and cloud deployments. Partners can also help businesses develop a device security and management strategy with the unique features of Windows 10. Businesses can view subscriptions and usage for Windows 10 Enterprise, and any other Microsoft cloud services purchased, in their partner portal for easier management with one contract, one user account, one support contact, and one simplified bill.

This is a really exciting opportunity for partners and you will soon be able to not only give your customers the BEST version of Windows, but also be able continue earning monthly recurring revenue which can be bundled with your other service offerings.

For the first time, you will be able to offer the Enterprise version of Windows outside of a Volume Licensing agreement!

*Please note that as of the posting of my blog entry, your CSP teams are currently working diligently to light up this opportunity, so please keep your eyes peeled!