Windows 8.1 Enterprise Licensing Implications

Licensing rules remain similar for the Pro and Enterprise editions of Windows 8.1 and Windows 8. Customers with Windows 8 Pro licenses—whether acquired via OEM or volume licensing channels—receive Windows 8.1 Pro at no additional cost, while only customers with active SA on Windows 8 Enterprise as of Oct. 2013 receive the right to Windows 8.1 Enterprise. However, all Windows 8 customers will need to move to Windows 8.1 by early 2016 or lose access to Microsoft product support.

Support Requires Move to Windows 8.1

Current documentation on the Microsoft web site states Windows 8.1 will follow a support lifecycle policy similar to a service pack, meaning Windows 8 customers have approximately two years from the general availability of Windows 8.1 to install Windows 8.1 or fall out of support. If left unchanged, this policy means that by early 2016 (at the latest), Microsoft will no longer issue security or other patches for the original Windows 8.

This support lifecycle policy should not cause problems for customers using Windows 8 Pro. They automatically receive the right to use Windows 8.1 Pro. According to the Windows 8 product family support lifecycle policy, the Extended Support phase won’t expire until Jan. 2023. As long as Pro edition customers move to the latest free “dot” release in a timely manner, they will continue to receive security patches for many years to come.