As previously announced, Windows 7 extended support is ending January 14, 2020. While many of you are already well on your way in deploying Windows 10, we understand that everyone is at a different point in the upgrade process.
With that in mind, today we are announcing that we will offer paid Windows 7 Extended Security Updates (ESU) through January 2023. The Windows 7 ESU will be sold on a per-device basis and the price will increase each year. Windows 7 ESUs will be available to all Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Enterprise customers in Volume Licensing, with a discount to customers with Windows software assurance, Windows 10 Enterprise or Windows 10 Education subscriptions. In addition, Office 365 ProPlus will be supported on devices with active Windows 7 Extended Security Updates (ESU) through January 2023. This means that customers who purchase the Windows 7 ESU will be able to continue to run Office 365 ProPlus.
Lots of corporate customers are still using Windows 7, and for many, there’s little reason to upgrade. Microsoft is just catering to those customers, while making sure it’ll be nigh-impossible for regular consumers to benefit from this paid-for extended support.
So, volume licensing customers, by paying additional fees, will be able to get their Windows 7 base supported up to the end-of-extended support for Windows 8.1; January 2023.
However, nothing is mentioned about supporting Windows 7 on 7th generation CPUs and later. Would this force these customers to remain on systems with 6th generation CPUs and earlier? That would be a though situation given that the hardware life cycle in many enterprises is usually 3 years – 4 at the most.
One can only wonder about the true motives behind this announcement.
There is a hack already to fight the artificial wall erected by MS and Intel for 7th generation processors (graphics and all) so, the technical excuses they used are just that.
Of course, we should not be using “hacks” on enterprises but we do.
Enterprises should be using the latest, most secure version of all software. But we all know that’s not just a pipe dream, but a nigh impossibility
In the sense that latest is never the most secure – a logical impossibility.
Hacks to install and run on latest CPUs.
Hacks to continue being allowed to install any relevant updates.
And there likely will be hacks to find and install the patches/updates arising from this extended paid support.
Finally, at the pace the ReactOS project is progressing lately, it may provide a viable alternative for those not wishing to ever embark on the Windows 10 train.
ReactOS is still very far from ready… it’s pace of progress lately is an illusion from more frequent (but with less changes) releases.
Edited 2018-09-13 23:50 UTC
Previously, it was said that the next version of Office (Office 2019) and future O365 releases would require Windows 10, but now that seems no longer necessary. It is unclear if they really mean that newer version will be supported on Windows 7 or that it will just be older version that will remain supported.
P.S. this kind of extended support is extremely expensive. Think “just-for-support you will pay what you would pay for a new Windows 10 license every year”
Windows 10 adds absolutely nothing for enterprise, business users. It only takes away. This is when I wish they would go back to business editions and home user editions. Let Windows 10 be the home user edition, and keep the Windows 7 line alive for business/enterprise users. Not Pro/Home as we currently have, but Business and Pro/Home. Business could care less about making tablet-friendly, touchy interfaces that scale down to phone size.
I have to agree with that. Even for home use, I have always preferred the Enterprise version of Windows over the Home version. Windows 2k was ideal for me over WinXP back when it was supported.
At least there are other operating systems and non-Microsoft office products I can use with ease and functionality.