There’s some good news for Enterprise users who are still using Windows 7. By now, almost everyone is aware that the company is bringing support for the aging operating system to a close.
The original time frame for formally ending support and for ending the issuance of security updates was set for as soon as January 2020.
Enterprise users, however, were given the option of paying for additional support for a limited window of time to give them a little longer to migrate away from Windows 7 and onto a more modern OS. Unfortunately, that window is now rapidly closing too. Recently, Microsoft announced a limited-time promotion for EA (Enterprise Agreement) and EAS (Enterprise Subscription Agreement) customers which will give them an extra year of Windows 7 security updates for free.
There is a catch, of course. You have to have an active subscription to either Windows 10 E5, Microsoft 365 E5, or Microsoft 365 Security. If you do, you can take advantage of the offer and milk a little more time and life out of your Windows 7 systems.
That’s big news for any company of any size that’s struggling to migrate away from an old Legacy system that depends on Windows 7 to function properly. That is because the costs of continuing to receive Windows 7 security updates beyond the January 2020 deadline are per device and increase every year.
In 2020, you’ll pay $25 per device, which will double to $50 per device in year two and $100 per device in year three. If you’re using Windows 7 Pro, your costs are even higher: $50 on year one, $100 on year two, and a staggering $200 per device on year three.
The bottom line is, if you need the extra time to move away from Windows 7, it pays to take advantage of Microsoft’s recent offer.
