Confirmed: Windows enterprise users to also receive free Windows 10 upgrades

Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 all included under same agreement as consumers

Microsoft has today confirmed to Computing that enterprise users of Windows 8.1, Windows 8 and Windows 7 will receive free upgrades to Windows 10 that will last a year. Windows Phone will also be included, though seeing as Windows Phone was a free OS to begin with, we're not sure why Microsoft thought to include this.

A Microsoft spokesperson told us:

"We are making it as easy as possible for everyone to get Windows 10 by offering a free upgrade to everyone with qualified Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1 devices."

However, we also asked if Microsoft could further outline whether this included specific versions of Windows 10 (examples we gave included Premium vs Home, or server editions) and, true to form, Microsoft replied that it did not "have any further information to share on this at present".

We asked Microsoft to clarify what executive vice president of operating systems, Terry Myerson, meant during Wednesday's presentation about the new operating system. Specifically, we asked what a Windows-running machine could expect to receive in the way of service after upgrade.

"Once a machine is upgraded to Windows 10, it will remain current through Windows Update for the supported lifetime of the device, with safety and security, productivity, and entertainment value over time," said the spokesperson.

"We call this Windows As A Service (WAAS) and it is one of our core inspirations for Windows 10. We'll keep listening to our customers, improving the experience month after month."

So can users expect a fast-moving, less intrusive and more transformative version of Patch Tuesday (hopefully with a cut-down on "Exploit Wednesday" to go with it) to run alongside Windows 10? It can only be hoped.

Finally, Microsoft was happy to remind us that it is "building an operating system that will run on a range of devices - from Xbox to PCs, phones to tablets and tiny gadgets - all of which are connected and kept up to date by Windows Update. Both enterprises and consumers stand to benefit - as will developers."

Consumers, enterprise and developers all together. It's the dream.

We came away quite impressed with the idea of Windows As A Service this week. However, the make or break for Windows 10 - as with Windows 8 - will still be uptake from the third party with both software and hardware.

It was no easy task for Windows 8's fragmented and sometimes confusing user interface, so the next step will be getting some hands on with the next Windows preview build and seeing if Redmond has figured out what people want this time.