Firms face annual fee for Vista Enterprise

Windows Vista Enterprise is available only to firms that pay for Microsoft's Software Assurance scheme

Large organisations hoping to ease their migration to Vista by acquiring it pre-installed on new machines may still have to sign up for Microsoft’s Software Assurance if they require features such as BitLocker disk encryption, it has emerged.

Vendors shipping corporate Vista PCs can only offer the Business edition of Vista pre-installed. This version lacks BitLocker and other features designed to appeal to large organisations.

The Enterprise edition of Windows Vista, which includes these features, is only available to volume customers under the Software Assurance scheme, whereby firms pay an annual subscription fee to Microsoft in return for support and updates. However, many companies have baulked at Software Assurance, preferring to obtain software under a perpetual licence or factored into the cost of new PCs.

Kristoffer Valiharju, software manager for Dell in Europe, confirmed that Dell PCs will not ship with Vista Enterprise pre-installed due to Microsoft’s licensing conditions.

A Microsoft spokesman explained that vendors “cannot provide Windows Vista Enterprise off-the-shelf”. He added that firms requiring this edition would either have to build their own Vista system image and provide it to a reseller, or buy PCs with Vista Business pre-installed and upgrade them using their volume licence.

Organisations planning to roll out Vista Enterprise across the network in this way will also have to operate a server-based key management system (KMS) to activate the software, and re-activate it at least every 180 days.

Richard Hall, chief technology officer of services firm Avanade, said Microsoft’s policy will be felt most keenly by firms with fewer than 50,000 staff. “A lot of the major manufacturers for the larger firms will have a unique package,” he added.

PC manufacturer Lenovo said that it can offer software image creation and custom preload services for Vista’s Enterprise edition to Software Assurance customers.

Meanwhile, Paul Dawson of services company Conchango said the transition to Vista may prove easier for non-Windows users. “Even expert users are finding it hard to get to grips with Vista because it’s fundamentally different,” he argued. “People who have had Linux or Macintosh experience, or have used Google Desktop, would find it easier.”