Microsoft announces Windows 10 editions

[Arthur]

I wonder what the difference is between the Enterprise and Education editions? It sounds like both will be available through EES.

 

Source: Microsoft (via Neowin)

 

Microsoft has announced the SKUs that will be shipping with Windows 10 and the platform will come in several flavours: Home, Mobile, Pro, Enterprise, Education and Mobile Enterprise. As the company announced earlier this year, Windows 10 will be a free upgrade from Windows 7 and 8.1 but only for Home, Mobile and Pro SKUs.

 

Windows 10 Home is designed for the consumer and includes features like Cortana, Edge browser, Continuum, Windows Hello and all of the built in apps.

 

Windows 10 Pro builds on the Home features and is targeted for the needs of small businesses. This SKU will include features to help business manage their devices, apps and protect sensitive data. Included at this level is also Microsoft's new 'Windows Update for Business' which gives IT admins detailed control over when and how updates are delivered to users.

 

Windows 10 Enterprise, as the name implies, is targeted at large corporations who need the most robust security and control functionality; this SKU is available to Volume Licensing customers. The most important feature in this SKU is that it will have access to the long term servicing branch as an option for deploying to mission critical machines.

 

Windows 10 Education is targeted at the schools and universities and is available through academic Volume Licensing. In addition there are routes for those students and schools using Windows 10 Home and Pro to upgrade to Windows 10 Education as well.

 

Finally, there is Windows 10 IoT Core which is designed for small, low cost devices.

Edited May 15, 2015 by elsiegee40

[mrbios]

Interesting that they've branched off education, maybe they'll start giving it to schools for free ....... i'll keep dreaming.

 

Just hope it still keeps all the same features as the enterprise addition that i've become accustomed to.

[timbo343]

Im thinking the education version may have some features missing which may appear in Pro or there will be a price difference between pro and education.

[sister_annex]

The statement infers that the Education version builds on the Enterprise version - so reading between the lines I suspect that it may just be licensing related or possibly they have some funky undisclosed features for us to get excited about!!

 

Windows 10 Education builds on Windows 10 Enterprise, and is designed to meet the needs of schools – staff, administrators, teachers and students. This edition will be available through academic Volume Licensing, and there will be paths for schools and students using Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro devices to upgrade to Windows 10 Education.

Edited May 13, 2015 by sister_annex

[snagrat]

Education will probably not have the long term servicing branch.

[Sylv3r]

I would think Cortana won't be available on the Education version - otherwise it will cause a bit of a distraction!

[Arthur]

Azure Active Directory and Windows 10

 

Support for modern form factors. Azure AD Join will work on devices that don't have the traditional domain join capabilities.

 

^ Could this mean the Home edition will be able to join Azure AD? Does "modern form factors" mean hybrid devices like Microsoft's Surface 3?

[sparkeh]

Interesting that the Education edition is billed as an upgrade to ​Pro.

[sted]

I would think Cortana won't be available on the Education version - otherwise it will cause a bit of a distraction!

 

possibly short term, but for certain groups of kids it could be incredibly useful esp if English is a 2nd language and cortana can work in to take 2 random languages English and Polish . I actually think it could be one of the most useful features windows 10 offers in education

[mrforgetful]

It would be great to have built in classroom management and user monitoring systems.

[Quackers]

Why Microsoft WHY!!! We use to have NT Workstation and NT Server. We don't need all these SKU's!

 

 

This video says it best.

 

[tmcd35]

Finally, there is Windows 10 IoT Core which is designed for small, low cost devices.

 

I read that as Windows ID10T Core

[LeMarchand]

The statement infers that the Education version builds on the Enterprise version

 

That's how I read it; seems odd.

[Arthur]

The statement infers that the Education version builds on the Enterprise version

Maybe it comes with a free copy of Minecraft?

Edited May 14, 2015 by Arthur

[Arthur]

Thanks @elsiegee40.

[elsiegee40]

Thanks @elsiegee40.

 

No problem

[Arthur]

Piecing together the Windows as a Service puzzle for Windows 10

 

There are going to be three Windows 10 servicing branches when the product launches: Current Branch (CB), Current Branch for Business (CBB) and Long Term Servicing Branch (LTSB). Different versions of Windows 10 will give users access to different servicing branches.

 

Those running Windows 10 Home will have just one choice -- the Current Branch. That means those users will have to take any new features, fixes and security updates that Microsoft pushes to them via Windows Update. (They will be pushed after Windows Insiders and Microsoft itself tests them). Windows 10 Home users won't have the option of delaying or deferring anything. And for many consumers, that will be OK, if not welcome.

 

Those running Windows 10 Pro are going to have two options: Current Branch or Current Branch for Business. The CB means, as with Home, that users will have to take all feature fixes and security updates as they're made available by Microsoft via Windows Update. But the CBB option will give Pro users more flexibility about when they apply the new features, fixes and security updates from Microsoft.

 

Those who are on Windows 10 Enterprise -- the most expensive and most fully-featured version of Windows 10 (and one that's available only to Volume Licensees) -- get the most choice.

 

Enterprise customers can mix and match. They'll be able to have any or all of their users on the Current Branch with immediate updates delivered via Windows Update. They'll be able to have any or all of their users on the CBB with the option to use Windows Update for Business or WSUS to get their updates, with the aforementioned right to delay the delivery of new features for a bit. Windows 10 Enterprise users also will be the only group to have access to the Long Term Servicing Branch. This branch allows users to take only security fixes and defer taking any new features and to handle them via Windows Update for Business and/or WSUS.

 

Windows 10 Education -- the volume-licensable version of Windows 10 that will include all the same features as Windows 10 Enterprise, but only for students and teachers -- will get the same options as Windows 10 Pro. Windows 10 Education users will have the option of taking new features, fixes and updates immediately via Windows Update, or slightly deferring when they get new features thanks to the CBB.

[ctstone]

It would be awesome if it had some form of classroom management tool built into it similar to Impero. But I have a feeling there won't be much software wise you'll notice

[JRowley]

I have to wonder why they are even bothering with an education version, if they are identical in almost everything except for name then what's the point? It just seems to me that they are going to end up with an overly complicated versioning system for Windows 10, when in actual fact it could have done with simplifying to Home Edition and Business Edition.

[Michael]

I have a feeling Windows 10 Enterprise and Windows 10 Education are one and the same, be it in name.

 

I suppose it also allows Microsoft to monitor the number of Education installs. vs. Professional and Enterprise - but also, I suspect there will be some minor tweaks to make the Education version more shiny (obviously)!

 

I actually think this is a good move. I have problems all the time convincing Home versions are not right for schools or that Enterprise has features schools do not necessarily need. I think a 'proper' Education version will remove these doubts.

[ColinP]

Would be cool if it enabled sharing Store Apps across profiles!!

[Arthur]

MDOP is going to be included for free if your volume licensing agreement has Software Assurance.

 

What kinds of exclusives will Microsoft offer Windows 10 Enterprise users?

 

With the availability of Windows 10, Microsoft also is going to offer Enterprise users with Software Assurance free access to the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP). Today, MDOP is an optional, paid add-on for Enterprise and Software Assurance customers. As of the launch of Windows 10, MDOP will be included for free with Software Assurance for new customers and renewal customers, but not retroactively. MDOP bundles together a number of virtualization, management and recovery tools.

 

Another change coming with Windows 10 is around side-loading of applications -- something business users may want for line-of-business applications available to their own employees only. Side-loading will be a built-in capability with Windows 10 for Home, Pro and Enterprise users. This means Microsoft will no longer be selling side-loading licenses as a separate add-on.

 

http://vgy.me/keeT9q.jpg

[spc-rocket]

Would be cool if it enabled sharing Store Apps across profiles!!

 

Yes,

 

this is one of the big pain with windows 8.1, the apps have to be per computer not per user!!, not sure why every vendor is going for personalised rubbished, my apps etc, my store etc. In education you want to roll these apps our to the computer not, users!.

 

completely agree with you.

 

Ash.

[snagrat]

Store Apps will be able to be installed in the image and deployed I was told at a recent MS event.

 

Hopefully that is from day 1.

[spc-rocket]

Store Apps will be able to be installed in the image and deployed I was told at a recent MS event.

 

Hopefully that is from day 1.

 

Would be great if true. The thing with this is that its okay to have the app installed in the image but do they provision for each user (this is another issue I guess). Sometime when logging on to windows 8 station you will see black screen for some time before getting to desktop. What it is doing is provisioning the app for the user. This process happens on all stations where the user has not logged on! so if they sort this out it would be a massive step forward of adopting windows 10 in education.

 

Ash.