Businesses greeted Windows 8 tepidly and not many upgraded from Windows 7 or even Windows XP despite end of life (EOL) worries. Windows 10 looks to change that as it provides plenty incentives for business to adopt it. Windows 10 brings more than just incremental improvements over Windows 8 to the table, as Microsoft aims to have it run on one billion devices by 2018. But why should businesses adopt this latest iteration of Windows? We have a few reasons why.
It is the cost-effective choice
For consumers and small businesses that still buy individual licenses, Microsoft prices Windows 10 at the low cost of free during the first year of release for PCs running Windows 8.1, Windows 8, or Windows 7. In fact, even PCs with less-than-genuine copies of those operating systems will get the opportunity to upgrade. A few cash-strapped businesses may appreciate that fact.
Some skeptics still may doubt why they should upgrade however, when Windows 7 has served them well enough for so long. Unfortunately for them, Windows 7 and 8 do have expiration dates. Windows 7 has already reached end of mainstream support while Windows 8 will reach that point on January 8, 2018. Enterprise users get a reprieve, but even they will need to upgrade to the new operating system. So upgrade for free before the window closes and you need to pay to get away from an unsupported operating system. You don’t want to end up like the city of Detroit.
It will be always be the most up-to-date version of Windows
Microsoft states Windows 10 will be the last version of Windows and moving forward, it will be a service similar to Office 365. That means Windows 10 will always be up-to-date and you do not need to worry about a migrating to a new operating system in three years’ time. Windows will be a single platform across multiple device types that stays updated.
Goodbye Internet Explorer. Hello Microsoft Edge
Internet Explorer does not exactly have the most stellar reputation, and it does not make an appearance in Windows 10. Replacing it is Microsoft Edge, formerly known as Project Spartan (A reference to the Halo video game franchise). Edge will integrated the new Inking and Cortana features into its user interface. Cortana is a voice recognition personal assistant similar to Siri while Inking allows you to take notes and mark up a browser page as if it were a page in a book.
For businesses, one of the most exciting Edge features is Enterprise mode. IT admins should think of Enterprise mode as similar to compatibility mode in IE, in that it enables legacy applications to run properly in the new web browser. This means that if your business utilizes an IE8 web application, you don’t have to worry about compatibility issues as Enterprise mode in Edge will emulate IE8.
Take Advantage of Windows Store Apps
Microsoft has never before put as much focus on the Windows Store as it has now. For Windows 10, Microsoft has made it a one-stop-shop for IT admins to procure and deploy software. With one store, software can be purchased and managed across multiple devices. It also applies to more than just desktop and laptop computers, as it integrates mobile device management (MDM). The updated Windows store integrates software purchasing and MDM more than any prior version of Windows.
