At least there’s an option…
The world’s most-favorite desktop operating system is meeting its extended end of support deadline in less than a year. With the deadline now looming over consumers, there has been a lot of hullabaloo over how to stay with Windows 7. Microsoft had previously promised that it will offer paid Windows 7 Extended Security Updates (ESU) through January 2023 “on a per-device basis.”
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The company has now sent a payment plan to some of its largest enterprise customers to inform them about exactly how much they will need to pay for extended support. This notice will also help Microsoft ensure that businesses aren’t waiting in the hope of Microsoft extending this deadline further and about the imminent need of making the upgrade to Windows 10.
According to this leaked payment plan, businesses will need to pay at least $25 per device per year for extended security updates. The prices double with each passing year, as with the previous version of Windows.
Windows 7 extended support payment plan
While the payment system does sound a little too much, it helps Microsoft push businesses to make the move to the latest operating systems and avoid fragmentation. Instead of being worried about the cost of upgrades, consumers have to then worry about the cost of sticking to an older OS version. Since the support fee doubles every year, it could become a massive burden on any organization to keep running an older operating system.
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Here’s the Windows 7 extended support plan:
- Year 1 (January 2020 through January 2021): Windows 7 Pro is $50 per device | Windows Enterprise (add-on) is $25 per device.
- Year 2 (January 2021 through January 2022): Windows 7 Pro is $100 per device | Windows Enterprise (add-on) is $50 per device.
- Year 3 (January 2022 through January 2023): Windows 7 Pro is $200 per device | Windows Enterprise (add-on) is $100 per device.
Apparently, not everyone will be eligible to opt for this extended support plan. Microsoft had previously said the extended support will only be offered to large business and education customers, running Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Enterprise with volume-licensing agreements.
Some reports suggest that Microsoft might be open to bulk discounts. In response to this leaked plan, a Microsoft spokesperson said that “customers would need to work with their Microsoft account team for details on pricing.”
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