Microsoft allows Windows 7 and 8 users who purchase any of the Windows subscription packages, such as Windows 10 Enterprise E3 and E5, through the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program, a free upgrade to Windows 10.
"Customers enrolled in the Windows 10 Enterprise E3 and E5 and Secure Productive Enterprise E3 and E5 programs can now upgrade their systems running Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 without having to purchase separate upgrade licenses," Microsoft said in a Jan. 19 blog post.
What do the above terms mean?
The Windows 10 Enterprise E3 and E5 are two new subscription packages for Windows Enterprise that Microsoft introduced last summer. Their purpose is largely for users of small and medium-sized businesses. The Windows 10 Enterprise E3 package costs $84 per user per year, or $7 per user per month. The E5 package costs $168 per year or $14 per user per month. Both packages are available directly from Microsoft through its volume licensing program and through its Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) partners.
Microsoft is said to offer the new free upgrade option from Windows 7 and 8.1 to Windows 10 through these programs for its customers who have purchased a new device with Windows and missed the free upgrade to Windows 10.
Hypocrisy?
As we predicted months before the first offer expired, Microsoft is quietly continuing to offer the option to get Windows 10 for free if you try to upgrade from Windows 7 and 8 with product keys that are legitimate, even after the free upgrade offer officially ended on July 29, 2016.
The upgrade licenses to Windows 10 that are issued through this new offer are of indefinite duration. This means that the license will not expire or be revoked if the customer chooses to terminate their subscription to the Windows cloud, says Microsoft.
Microsoft seems to be trying to increase the market share of Windows 10, which months after its release is still lagging behind Windows 7.
