Mar 24, 2011 08:24 GMT  ·  By

There are more ways than one to buy Windows, and as of March 23rd, Microsoft is offering a new option to customers.

Windows Intune went live yesterday in 35 countries worldwide, with a 30-day free trial accompanying the general availability milestone.

The software giant’s latest Cloud-based offering democratizes PC management and security for business customers of all sizes, but it also includes additional goodies for just $11 per PC per month beyond the solutions offering computer administration and protection capabilities.

I’m of course talking about upgrade rights to Windows 7 Enterprise, which are included at no extra cost, in a move by the Redmond company designed to drive standardization.

For the price of $11 per PC per month, customers get not only the Windows Intune PC management and security solution in the Cloud from Microsoft, but also the possibility to use the latest iteration of Windows.

The Enterprise SKU is the equivalent of the high-end Ultimate edition of Windows with differences mainly in terms of licensing.

With Windows Intune evolving at a very rapid pace, subscribers won’t get the chance to wear Windows 7 Enterprise out.

According to the software giant, once Windows vNext comes out, customers with Windows Intune licenses will be able to swap Windows 7 Enterprise for its successor.

“Windows Intune is a fantastic way to step up to Windows 7 – our fastest selling operating system ever with more than 300 million licenses sold worldwide,” revealed Gavriella Schuster, Windows Intune general manager of Windows Product Management.

“Business customers are moving to Windows 7 rapidly as they experience both very high end user excitement and IT value. Windows Intune includes upgrade rights to current and future versions of Windows Enterprise so you can standardize on one version of Windows and give your employees the best Windows experience.”