Selecting the Appropriate Edition of Windows Vista

Three major editions of Windows Vista serve organizations. Shown here are the editions and the most important features that distinguish them for large organizations.

Windows Vista Business includes many features that aren’t available in consumer editions of the OS. Most important for large organizations is client support for Active Directory Domain Services (formerly called Active Directory), which enables central management of user log-on credentials as well as computer management via Group Policy. Vista Business also delivers Offline Files and Folders, which enables laptops or other PCs to maintain cached copies of file server data for use while offline; Remote Desktop, which enables a user to remotely log onto and view and control a PC; and the Encrypting File System, which offers a modest level of protection for sensitive data by encrypting individual files and folders (for example, preventing two users who share the same machine from accessing each other’s data).

Windows Vista Enterprise includes all of the features of Windows Vista Business and adds multilanguage user interface support, which enables a global organization to deploy a single Windows image and have local administrators or end users set the OS user interface language on each PC, and also makes it possible for a user (or users who share the same workstation) to switch the user interface among multiple languages. Other Enterprise features include BitLocker full-drive encryption, a far more robust data protection scheme than EFS alone that greatly reduces the threat of data theft or exposure from lost, stolen, or recycled computers (especially laptops); and the Subsystem for Unix Applications, which enables modified Linux or Unix applications to run on Windows, which is particularly useful for running scientific or engineering applications originally written for Unix workstations.