Windows 10 S

Microsoft pushes Windows 10 S to business customers

Windows 10 S no longer just for education, as Microsoft unveils new devices running the variant for business customers.

Initially, Microsoft was only touting Windows 10 S for the education market. A locked down version for Windows 10 Pro streamlined for security and performance that will help IT administrators quickly and easily setup school devices.

However, the company is now also planning to bring Windows 10 S to business customers through the Microsoft 365 program. During the Ignite 2017 conference, the company revealed a number of devices starting as low as $275 from Lenovo, HP, and Fujitsu running Windows 10 S.

Windows 10 S devices available through Microsoft 365 F1
Windows 10 S devices available through Microsoft 365 F1

And according to Microsoft, organizations will benefit from self-service deployment and easy management while reducing the total cost of ownership.

Thus far we’ve seen only a handful of affordable devices from a number of Microsoft partners and the Surface Laptop that are aimed to the education market running Windows 10 S.

Now, it’ll be interesting to see if businesses will find the value they need, as this new variant is limited to run only apps from the Store and Microsoft Edge as the default web browser, when usually, organizations run custom traditional and older apps.

Alongside the new devices, Microsoft announced that sometime next year there will be a new variant of Windows 10 Enterprise, which will be known as Windows 10 Enterprise in S mode. Basically, it’ll be a version of Windows 10 S but with Enterprise features, similar to the original Windows 10 S that includes Windows 10 Pro features.

About the author

Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 14 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, 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.