14 DAY TRIAL // Windows 10 will arrive on the market this summer, and leaving aside the plethora of changes that it’ll bring on PCs, smartphones, and tablets, it also represents the first Windows version that’s being offered by Microsoft completely free of charge.
Needless to say, offering a Windows version for free is quite a big thing in today’s world, at least for a company that still sees Windows as the second biggest cash cow in its portfolio.
But beyond all of these, offering Windows 10 free of charge is actually a pretty smart marketing strategy because the whole world not only discusses Microsoft’s new operating system but also downloads the technical preview and registers for the Windows Insider program to see what it’s all up to.
So the big question right now is what the free in “free Windows 10” actually means. Not much. Because you still have to pay for it if you’re coming from Windows XP, Vista, or a non-Windows platform. Or in case you’re on Windows 8.1 or Windows 7, you already did so.
Microsoft isn’t making so much money with consumers
Right now, the Windows business for Microsoft is only 20 percent consumers, with the biggest part going to enterprises, which are actually the ones that are providing the cash to the company.
Windows 10 will be free for consumers only, so enterprises will still have to pay for it. But as far as consumers are concerned, only those with a valid Windows 8.1 or Windows 7 license will be allowed to update to the new OS without paying for it. In other words, those who already paid for Windows will be allowed to install the new version.
Just imagine that, out of the 20 percent consumer business for Microsoft, only a small fraction actually uses Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 with a valid license (because, you know, piracy is still a problem at Microsoft). So Microsoft isn’t losing anything if it offers you the possibility of getting Windows 10 for free.
Instead, it has a lot to win. The marketing potential of such an offer is amazing, and Windows 10 is becoming one of the hottest topics these days for everyone in this industry.
So the free in “free Windows 10” doesn’t mean so much for us. But it certainly does for Microsoft.