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
Edge and Internet Explorer (IE)—Microsoft’s Web browsers
Windows Server—the Windows server OS for servers with AMD or Intel x64 processors
Windows 10 Mobile—the Windows client OS for smartphones, currently in preview.

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. (See the sidebar “What’s New on the Windows Roadmap“.)

Windows Client

The Windows client OS supports laptop, desktop, and tablet devices (collectively, clients). (See the illustration “Windows Client Overview“.) The current version, Windows 10, became generally available on July 29, 2015, and through volume licensing agreements on Aug. 1, 2015. In addition to having several editions, Windows 10 has different service models or branches. This means organizations must evaluate which edition they will license and which service branch the edition will follow.

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