The Right Windows Vista for Your Organization
Excerpt from Microsoft Vista Website
To serve organizations of all sizes, Windows Vista is available in two editions designed for business: Windows Vista Business and Windows Vista Enterprise.
Windows Vista Business is designed to help keep PCs running smoothly and securely so you are less reliant on dedicated IT support.
Windows Vista Enterprise is the premium edition of Windows Vista, with all the features in Windows Vista Business plus extra capabilities that can help lower IT costs and improve data protection.
Why choose Windows Vista Enterprise for your organization
Windows Vista Enterprise specifically addresses the needs associated with deploying and maintaining complicated desktop infrastructures. Windows Vista Enterprise is available exclusively through Software Assurance. Software Assurance helps minimize the costs and maximize the value of your Windows investment. It provides integrated solutions for all phases of the software lifecycle—providing you the most cost-effective way to acquire the latest software.
Windows Vista Enterprise has all of the features available in Windows Vista Business plus the following key features for your organization's advanced needs:
Data protection with Windows BitLocker Drive Encryption
Organizations face increasing concerns around intellectual property and sensitive data being compromised on a lost, stolen, or recycled computer.
Windows BitLocker Drive Encryption, available in Windows Vista Enterprise, provides full volume encryption that helps to ensure that corporate and client data never falls into the wrong hands, whether the data is on a desktop, a laptop, or an older computer that needs to be retired.
Application compatibility and virtualization
Application compatibility is a source of cost and complexity for organizations when considering a new desktop operating system. Windows Vista Enterprise provides rights to four virtual operating systems and the Subsystem for UNIX-Based Applications (SUA), unique licensing rights, and functionality that mitigates the pain of application compatibility. This will help your organization continue to gain value from applications running on other operating systems while also taking advantage of the unique capabilities provided by Windows Vista.
- With Windows Vista Enterprise, customers have the ability to install up to four copies of the operating system in a virtual machine for a single user on a single device. This benefit, coupled with the free availability of Virtual PC, provides Windows Vista Enterprise customers with the most economical means to address application compatibility and other related scenarios using virtualization.
- Subsystem for UNIX-Based Applications (SUA) is a component that provides platform services to run UNIX system-based applications and scripts on Windows Vista Enterprise. SUA eases interoperability between Windows and UNIX/Linux environments and Unix-based enterprise applications porting to the Windows platform.
Worldwide deployment—Multilingual User Interface (MUI)
Organizations that operate worldwide face the burden of managing multiple desktop images for each hardware type and language supported. Windows Vista Enterprise provides significant time savings in prepping deployment of the new operating system, and can lower the total cost of deployment and maintenance of new images.
Windows Vista enables you to deploy images across different personal computers. With Windows Vista Enterprise, you can further reduce the cost and complexity of imaging by deploying a single worldwide image that includes all Windows user interface languages.
Software Assurance: Integrated solutions
In addition to Windows Vista Enterprise, Software Assurance provides much more than a traditional maintenance offering. It includes exclusive tools and services that help customers maximize their software investment throughout all stages of software management, from planning and deployment to managing and transitioning. Some of these benefits include:
Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs
Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs is a limited operating system that can extend the life of legacy PCs by reducing the total cost of ownership, improving the overall security, and bridging the gaps between hardware updates with a software solution.
Extended Hotfix Support
With the Extended Hotfix Support benefit available in Software Assurance, customers with a Premier or Essential Support contract can easily get the support they need as their software transitions from Mainstream Support to Extended Support.
Software Assurance customers enjoy:
- Greater savings: With annual fees for the Extended Hotfix Support benefit included in the Software Assurance program, you pay only for the individual new, nonsecurity hotfixes when you need them.
- Peace of mind and flexibility: As a Software Assurance customer, you can request new, nonsecurity hotfixes when you need them and without having to sign up within 90 days of a product's transition from Mainstream Support to Extended Support.
As always, security fixes are automatically available to all customers.
New Version Rights and Spread Payments
Software Assurance customers receive access to new versions of licensed software released during the term of their agreement. Having new version rights to the latest Microsoft software provides flexibility and simplifies the software procurement process, shortens the organization planning cycle, and enables you to deploy solutions at your own pace. With the New Version Rights benefit, you can also lower the costs associated with acquiring new version releases and take immediate advantage of the latest technology.
Lastly, Software Assurance also offers a more flexible way to manage technology expenditures by enabling you to spread payments annually over the duration of the agreement. With the Spread Payments benefit, you can reduce initial costs and forecast annual software budget requirements up to three years in advance.
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