Microsoft has made it clear that it wishes companies to abandon the Windows 10 Pro version and switch to the Enterprise version because Windows 10 Pro is terrible. This article will tell you why Windows 10 Pro keeps getting worse and why Microsoft won’t make Windows 10 Pro better.
Why Windows 10 Pro Keeps Getting Worse
A year ago, two Gartner analysts, Kleynhans and Michael Silver said that Windows 10 Pro was a dead end for most companies. In the interview of Kleynhans in May 2018, “The one thing that really surprised me about the added support was the fact that it didn’t apply to Pro. I think that this telegraphed the fact that, for businesses, Pro is being dead-ended.”
He also said that if you are a small organization, the demand is not big and you do not need to manage your own computer, then Windows 10 Pro is very suitable for small businesses, such as small shops or doctors’ offices. But if you need central IT or centralized management, Pro is not very suitable for you.
Although Microsoft prefers Windows 10 Enterprise, before that, emphasizing other SKUs with the same Enterprise suffix, the second-class citizenship of the Pro version is particularly revealed when Microsoft only provides temporary support extensions to Enterprise customers.
So why Windows 10 Pro keeps getting worse? The biggest problem that Windows has remained is still the support. After Kleynhans and Silver told users that Windows 10 Pro was not suitable for use last year, Microsoft added a few months to the support lifecycle to the recent Windows 10 Enterprise update a few months ago, including versions 1609, 1703 and 1709. (However, the upgrade of version 1803 was not initially extended to 24 months.)
Microsoft is more inclined to Windows 10 Enterprise after Gartner analysts’ alerts about Pro. In September 2018, Washington Redmond said that starting with the 1809 version launched in October, every fall upgrade can get 30 months of support, while only 18 months for Windows 10 Pro.
The impact of this extra support is immediately reflected. Since the upgrade cycle of Windows 10 Pro is likely to become annual, it not only poses a risk but also brings the flexibility needed for the business.
Conversely, because Windows 10 Enterprise’s update time has been extended to 30 months, companies using Windows 10 Enterprise can continue to use the current version for the first 12 months and then update it later. If it is determined that Microsoft will implement as planned, those bold IT staffs are likely to reduce deployment time to 24 months.
Why Microsoft Won’t Make Windows 10 Pro Better
The reason why Windows 10 Pro keeps getting worse is that Microsoft has no incentive to improve Windows 10 Pro to an operating system that can be applied to any organization.
In addition, Microsoft has set boundaries, just as its rights, whether it is to make Windows 10 Pro better or lower Windows 10 Enterprise, except allowing large-scale customer rebellion without any benefit.
Once the OEM pays Microsoft, allowing a copy of Windows 10 Pro to be installed before the PC leaves the factory, Microsoft can’t make money directly from the operating system. Although Microsoft has been able to earn money on Windows 10 Pro PCs by selling other software or services for decades, Windows 10 Pro is a one-time sale that makes money at one time.
Previously Microsoft’s revenue in Enterprise was limited to Software Assurance, but now Microsoft can profit from software subscriptions ranging from Windows 10 Enterprise E3 and E5 to Microsoft 365 Enterprise E3 and E5.
Buying a subscription will lead to a more comprehensive feature set (in most cases, these feature sets are unique to enterprise SKUs). If the subscription expires and does not renew, the user’s computer will be running Windows 10 Pro again.
Therefore, in addition to the money that the user needs to pay in the computer, the user needs to pay another fee when they subscribe to Enterprise again.
Because companies are hoping to get more and more revenue, Microsoft may secretly hope that all companies will adopt Enterprise and no one will use Pro. Therefore, Microsoft is unlikely to extend the update time of Windows 10 Pro.
