Microsoft announces Windows 10 and Surface subscriptions

by Mark Tyson on 13 July 2016, 09:31

Tags: Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Windows 10, Surface

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Windows 10 Enterprise

Microsoft has announced that it will be allowing business users to subscribe to pay for Windows 10 software and Surface devices. Considering the software offer first, the Secure Productive Enterprise E3 bundle will be priced at $7 per user per month ($84pa) and be available through reseller partners.

Microsoft's Secure Productive Enterprise E3 bundle includes Windows 10 Enterprise E3, Office 365 E3, and Enterprise Mobility + Security E3. There will also be an E5 bundle with Windows 10 Enterprise E5, Office 365 E5, and Enterprise Mobility + Security E5 (including Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection). Pricing and launch time for E5 wasn't divulged by Microsoft. Microsoft said that Windows 10 Pro users will be able to upgrade to Windows 10 Enterprise without requiring a reboot.

Surface as a Service

Injecting hardware into its service subscription bundles is a new step for Microsoft. "Our Cloud Solution Providers (who are also Surface Authorized Distributors) can offer Surface devices through a managed service offering to all of our resellers and customers," explained Microsoft on its Windows Experience blog.

The Surface as a Service initiative, especially when combined with the Windows 10 Enterprise subscriptions mentioned above, will see enterprise customers benefit from "flexibility of solutions, faster device refresh and ensures customers can have the latest Surface devices that evolve with the best Windows and Office have to offer," claims Microsoft.

Microsoft hans't yet provided any indication of the pricing of service bundles that include a Surface device.

HEXUS Forums :: 12 Comments

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Posted by shaithis - Wed 13 Jul 2016 09:56
Be interesting to see pricing on Surface as a service….
Posted by jezza9 - Wed 13 Jul 2016 10:02
I suppose the main question a lot of people will ask, is whether subscriptions will start and end with Enterprise Windows 10 or this is just the start of a creep towards full subscriptions across Windows 10.
Posted by LeetyMcLeet - Wed 13 Jul 2016 10:58
I doubt they'd adopt the subscription model for the core versions of Windows. That would be a BIG mistake!

I dunno about you guys, but I wouldn't be happy about that at all. I'd probably end up running a dodgy copy or even (and I really wouldn't want to) run Linux on my desktop/laptop. Don't do it MS!
Posted by Tpyo - Wed 13 Jul 2016 12:12
LeetyMcLeet
I doubt they'd adopt the subscription model for the core versions of Windows. That would be a BIG mistake!

I dunno about you guys, but I wouldn't be happy about that at all. I'd probably end up running a dodgy copy or even (and I really wouldn't want to) run Linux on my desktop/laptop. Don't do it MS!

I'd certainly object if they tried to add a subscription to the versions of W10 I already had (and anyone who upgraded from W8/W7 would probably feel the same - a paid copy is a paid copy).
Personally, I'd prefer it if it was a choice (i.e. you could pay a larger one-off fee and be done with it), but a subscription as an option for people newly acquiring W10 would be okay (there should be no up front costs if that is the case though).
Posted by DR - Wed 13 Jul 2016 12:19
It's interesting - I am a fan of subscription for software - things like Adobe Creative Cloud - it's not expensive per month you can scale it up - and it works out less a year than buying the full license (which we tended to upgrade). So it's not a bad thing. Of course this is from a business perspective. What I don't like is people selling you software and you paying for a ‘Service Agreement’ to get upgrades…. It's one or the other not a fusion of the two.

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