Businesses Can Test Out Windows 10 In 90 Day Trial

Microsoft is offering large enterprises the chance to test out Windows 10 for three months before they decide whether or not to upgrade to the latest version of the operating system.

Consumers and small businesses can download Windows 10 for free if they are using Windows 7 or 8, but enterprises will have to pay for their version of the software, which includes business-specific features.

Device management, data protection, security and provisioning capabilities are all included in the enterprise edition, but some of the consumer features are lacking.

Windows 10 enterprise

A 90-day evaluation copy can be downloaded and transferred to a DVD or USB flash drive to let administrators test out the new functions and ensure all existing applications are compatible. As a rule, Microsoft says if an app works on Windows 8.1, it should be fine on Windows 10, but says in some cases this might not be true.

Windows 10: Five Features You’re Going To Love

Any candidate system must currently run an enterprise version of Windows 7 or 8 to be compatible, have 1GB of RAM, a resolution of at least 1024 x 768 and run Direct 9x or later. For the 32-bit edition, there must 1GB of RAM and 16GB of free storage space and for the 64-bit version, there must be 2GB of RAM and 20GB of disk space.

So far, 14 million devices have downloaded Windows 10, which Microsoft promises will work just as well on tablets, smartphones and connected devices as PCs. Windows 10 has been beta tested for several months by preview users in an effort to squash any bugs in time for the commercial launch earlier this week.

Whereas Windows 8 was pitched as the saviour of the PC market and Microsoft’s attempt to secure a share of the tablet market, analysts say Windows 10 is about reaching as many devices as possible, providing itself and developers with a huge user base to target, especially in the Internet of Things.

What do you know about Windows 10? Try our quiz!