Windows

As managing vice president, Rob Helm covers Microsoft collaboration and content management. His 25-plus years of experience analyzing Microsoft’s technology... more

Four Windows products are of primary interest to enterprise customers:

Windows—the Windows client OS for devices with an AMD or Intel x86 or x64 processor
Windows Phone—the Windows client OS for smartphones
Windows Server—the Windows server OS for servers with AMD or Intel x64 processors
Internet Explorer (IE)—Microsoft’s Web browser.

Customers need to track the status of Windows software and related Windows-based devices in order to plan for the deployment and maintenance of desktops, laptops, tablets, smartphones, and servers as well as the deployment of other server products, such as SQL Server and Exchange Server or the Office desktop suite, which all have dependencies on specific versions of Windows.

Windows Client

The Windows 8.1 client OS is Microsoft’s primary OS for laptop, desktop, and tablet computers (collectively, clients). (See the illustration “Windows Client Overview“.) Two Windows client OSs, Windows 8.1 and Windows RT 8.1, became generally available to all customers, including volume licensing customers, in Oct. 2013. Windows client and server OSs received mandatory updates in Apr., Aug., and Nov. 2014. Windows 10, the next version of the client OS, is currently in a technical preview with general availability in the third quarter of 2015.

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