Microsoft has announced that it will let partners sell subscriptions to Windows 10, which will include virtualization rights.
The company just announced tiered plans for the forthcoming offer in its Inspire world conference last week. Subscriptions will roll out beginning Sept. 6 via its Cloud Solution Providers.
Windows 10 Enterprise With Virtualization Use Rights
By September, Microsoft will begin giving users several options for virtualization, provided these users, of course, are looking to buy a subscription-based version of Windows 10 Enterprise. That being said, the company will still roll out Windows 10 Enterprise E3 sans virtualization rights for those who might not need it.
The aforementioned phrases may sound new to you. So here's a brief explanation: Windows 10 Enterprise E3 and E5 are Microsoft's subscription-based versions of its operating system. Targeted mostly for relatively small enterprises and business users, the subscriptions are available via Microsoft Cloud Solution Providers and Enterprise Agreements.
Come September, customers will be able to choose from five subscription offerings in the CSP program, which comes with virtualization rights. This will enable partners to host Windows virtual machines in Azure or with a qualified hosting partner.
Microsoft laid it all down in its blog post:
First, customers will be able to get Windows 10 Enterprise E3 with or without virtualization rights. Windows Enterprise E5, on the other hand, will automatically be updated to include virtualization rights.
Microsoft will create a Windows 10 Enterprise E3 VDA offering for customers who require access to Windows virtual machines on devices that don't run Windows Pro.
Those already subscribed to Microsoft 365 Enterprise via CSP will receive Windows 10 virtualization rights automatically — at no extra charge, of course.
Windows 10 Enterprise: Subscription Plans And Pricing
ZDNet managed to get a hold of slides from Microsoft's presentation, which shows the specific pricing plans. Windows 10 Enterprise E3 currently costs $7 per month for each user. It will now go up to $12 with virtualization rights, and $18 for the E3 VDA option, which doesn't require a Windows Pro device. Meanwhile, Windows 10 Enterprise E5 with virtualization rights will cost $19. Keep in mind that all these rights are on a per-user-per-month basis.
Check out the slide below for a more information:
In all, what this news essentially means is that Microsoft just decided to be more welcoming to service providers.
"For some business customers, Windows virtualization is the solution that best meets their productivity, security, and IT infrastructure needs," says Microsoft.
