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SMBs Out of Luck with Windows 7

December 18, 2019

The office end of support for Windows 7 is right around the corner. That date is January 14, 2020. However, Microsoft initially announced that extended support would be available for large businesses that have volume license agreements. In October, Microsoft extended the ESU (Extended Security Update) to all businesses. The Windows 7 ESU program provides support for an additional three years through January 2023 and was officially available on December 2, 2019. It sounds like a great idea for small businesses that aren't quite ready to forklift their environment and upgrade to Windows 10.

Even though the ESU program is available to all businesses, apparently you can't purchase it if you are a small business. Microsoft says small businesses must purchase Windows 7 ESUs through one of its Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) partners. Ed Bott of ZDNet tried to purchase the ESUs, but ran into a wall. Gregg Keizer of Computer World tried to buy support too and struck out. In other words, just because Microsoft has made ESUs available to everyone, good luck trying to purchase them. The CSP partners don't want to bother with small purchases with such a small margin product. As Ed Bott said, "Microsoft doesn't seem particularly interested in taking your money if your business is too small."

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