Microsoft to make per-user Windows licensing available to enterprise customers

[MrKJLS]

Microsoft is taking another step toward subscription licensing, this time with Windows.The company is offering its enterprise users a new per-user, rather than per-device, licensing option for Windows 7 and Windows 8 enterprise customers. A new Enterprise Cloud Suite (ECS) bundle -- including Office 365 E3, Enterprise Mobility Suite (EMS) and a new Windows Software Assurance per User license -- is a new volume-licensing option that will be available to Microsoft volume-licensing users starting December 1.

The brand-new piece of ECS is the per-user Windows licensing option. That option allows volume licensees to "user-fy" a Windows per-device license. That way, a single individual gets the rights to access a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) from any device, as well as to install and run Windows 7 or Windows 8 Enterprise on multiple devices. It's basically a new licensing option layered on top of the existing per-device model, explained Directions on Microsoft's Rob Horwitz.

 

Source: Microsoft to make per-user Windows licensing available to enterprise customers | ZDNet