Updated: July 9, 2020 (August 24, 2009)

Licensing Windows 7

Michael analyzed and wrote about Microsoft's operating systems, including the Windows client OS, as well as compliance and governance. Michael... more

Companies planning upgrades to Windows 7 can take steps immediately to reduce the total cost of upgrading. Major factors that influence the upgrade path they take include which edition of Windows 7 they want, whether they want to standardize on a single OS edition, and whether they have Software Assurance (SA) upgrade rights on their current client PCs. Their volume licensing plan and the number of desktops in their organization also influence their choices.

Choosing a Target OS

OS upgrades involve more than paying for the licenses—planning the deployment to minimize disruption and retraining users can cost more, for example—but in some cases it can be substantial.

Many factors go into determining the best option for a given customer, but one of the main choices is the edition of Windows 7 they want to use. They need not choose a single edition—editions can coexist within an organization—but the upgrade path they follow depends on the OS they want.

Windows 7 will come in the following three business editions:

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