Licensing Strategies for Windows 7 Upgrades

The release of Windows 7 has prompted many organizations to begin planning desktop OS upgrades. In addition to planning the technical aspects of a desktop OS deployment, they must also determine how best to purchase the Windows 7 licenses they need. Options range from simply bringing in Windows 7 as they purchase new PCs to volume licensing programs that give them the immediate right to upgrade every computer to the new OS. Choosing the right licensing program requires matching IT and business objectives to the licensing plan that will offer what they need at the lowest cost.

What’s Special About Windows

The Windows desktop OS is unique from a volume licensing perspective because companies cannot make their initial purchase of Windows through volume licensing. Instead, each computer must already have a copy of Windows on it—usually preinstalled by an OEM—before companies can cover that copy of Windows in a volume agreement.

Covering Windows on a volume agreement is also the only way to get Software Assurance (SA), an annual subscription that’s added to a license and provides discounts on upgrades (if Microsoft delivers an upgrade before the subscription expires) and other benefits, including access to special Windows editions and additional usage rights. Here, Windows is unique as well. While for most software SA must be purchased at the same time as the license to which it’s added, SA can be attached to Windows (specifically, Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate) on a new PC if SA is purchased within 90 days of the computer’s purchase; if SA is not added within that period, the customer who wants SA must purchase another Windows license, such as a Windows 7 Professional Upgrade, and add SA to that upgrade license when it is purchased.