Microsoft Managed Desktop Service will Charge a Monthly Fee

According to a report from CNet’s well-known Microsoft specialist Mary Jo Foley, Microsoft will soon launch a desktop-as-a-service program called “Microsoft Managed Desktop“, which will charge a monthly fee to configure computers running Windows 10 (Don’t know how to install Windows 10? Click here! ) and keep them running smoothly as new updates are released.

Windows 10 might not be free forever. Microsoft always describes Windows 10 as a service, which may indicate that Microsoft would start charging users a monthly fee to maintain the operating systems and the new report confirmed this is exactly what will happen.

The service is essentially a “desktop as a service” that provides users with Windows 10 automatically configured for them and keeps the operating system up-to-date. Users only pay a certain fee per month, which is different from the current user buying Windows 10 operating system directly (SEE: Easily Migrate Windows 10 to SSD without Reinstalling OS Now!). On the contrary, it is the same as the current Office 365 service. As a line of subscription services offered by Microsoft, Office 365 is available by subscription with flexible annual or monthly fee. The brand includes plans that allow use of the Microsoft Office software suite during the period of the subscription, as well as cloud-based software as a service product for business environments, such as hosted Exchange Server, Skype for Business Server, and SharePoint among others. 

The difference between Microsoft’s desktop as a service and other companies’ desktop as a service is that it keeps updating Windows components. This is a difference that may be popular with users. Windows has been criticized for updating its system every two years, and patch compatibility problems make the experience too bad. Like Foley stated in his post:

“As anyone who’s been watching Windows 10 feature updates knows, many IT pros are unhappy about Microsoft’s twice-yearly feature updates to the OS. They have seen updates break compatibility with things they didn’t anticipate. They’ve seen Microsoft post and pull patches and updates to these releases, making deployment a nightmare. Windows as a service has been a rocky (or substitute your expletive of choice) road for many.”

As early as 2005, Microsoft conducted an experiment that managed Windows PCs and servers for Energizer Holdings. Later, the model evolved to provide Office 365 services to users, in the form of paid services, rather than directly selling the product (there are also permanent paid versions). Now the model will be used on Windows 10, allowing users to rent the operating system from Microsoft at a monthly fee. Mary Jo Foley also talked about this in her report, which shows that Microsoft has certainly formed its monthly charge plan in mind.

“Back in 2005, Microsoft conducted a trial via which it managed Windows PCs and servers for Energizer Holdings. The company quietly began selling this managed services offering to enterprises with more than 5,000 seats before ultimately turning the service into Office 365.

It looks like Redmond’s about to try an updated variant of this strategy again.”

Furthermore, Foley also states “One of my contacts said that Bill Karagounis – former Director of the Windows Insider Program & OS Fundamentals team, who last year joined the Enterprise Mobility and Management part of Windows and Devices – is in charge of the coming Microsoft Managed Desktop.”

It seems that managed subscriptions for Windows 10 will come true in the near future with Microsoft publicly hiring for this new division.

Maybe in three years, Microsoft will be selling Microsoft Managed Desktop like it sells Office 365 today. And people who choose to stay on Windows 7 (Recommend: How to Dual Boot Windows 7 and Windows 10) and Windows 8 are probably feeling pretty complacent right now.