Microsoft is announcing a number of changes that will affect how business customers will continue to receive support for Windows and Office, and this is a good news.
Windows 10 support extension
Initially, the software giant committed to provide 18 months support for each new version of Windows 10, and now, for the Enterprise and Education editions of the operating system the support will be extended for 30 months since their original release. That is, of course, as long as you’re running the September feature update, as the release targeted for March will only be supported for 18 months as usual.
This new change (via Neowin) applies to version 1803 and future versions, as well as previous releases, including version 1709, 1703, and 1607.
In a related topic, Microsoft also says that almost all the apps designed for Windows 7 are compatible with Windows 10. However, to help customers with apps having problems with newer version of the operating system, Microsoft is unveiling the “Desktop App Assure” service that will assign an engineer to resolve any compatibility issue with any app after installing a new release of Windows 10 or Office 365.
The new service is free for customers using Windows 10 Enterprise and Windows 10 Education. Desktop App Assure is expected to be available on October 1, and in the rest of the world starting February 1, 2019.
Windows 7 support extension
Alongside the support changes for Windows 10, Microsoft is also adjusting support for Windows 7 customers (via ZDNet).
Originally, the extended support for Windows 7 was set to January 14, 2020, and now, the company is extending support for paid customers until January 2023. However, this is only for security updates, and businesses will have to paid up to continue getting future security updates. Also, these new paid Extended Security Updates (ESUs) will be available on a per-device basis with pricing going up each year.
This new change is only available for the Enterprise and Professional version of Windows 7 for customers using volume licensing. If you want to pay a little less, Microsoft is also offering an undisclosed discount for organizations using Windows software assurance, Windows 10 Education, or Windows 10 Enterprise subscriptions.
Office 365 support extension
Microsoft is also introducing changes to Office 365 ProPlus support. Previously, the company said that starting February 2020, Office 365 will stop support and block the installation of suite of office apps on Windows 8.1 and older versions of Windows.
However, the new change extends the ability to install Office 365 on Windows 8.1 until January 2023, which coincides with the end of support for the operating system.
Mauro Huculak is a Windows expert and the Editor-in-Chief who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He is also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 12 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows, software, and related technologies, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me.