With Windows 10 only two weeks away, Microsoft is still being coy about the exact date the new operating system will be generally available to the average user.
CRN has previously reported that the widely publicised 29 July launch date won’t apply for many users, with the five million members of the Windows Insider program first to receive the OS.
"Windows 10 is coming to market in an entirely new way. We look at the 29th as the starting gun for this new era of Windows 10," said Jeremy Korst, general manager of Windows product marketing. "Windows will get better over time with all these new features and security updates over time."
He said Microsoft would go to market in "a phased manner and an intentional manner in the days and weeks following the launch", said Korst – who couldn't provide a specific date, reiterating "our intention is of course to fulfill that demand as soon as possible".
In terms of sales targets for the new OS, the only public number is Satya Nadella's ambition to hit 1 billion Windows 10 devices by 2018. "Of course", Microsoft has specific internal targets for Windows 10 deployments, admitted Korst, both in terms of adoption but also consumption, a metric that is becoming standard currency in Office 365.
"We are holding the engineering, marketing and sales teams accountable to make sure it is not just adopted but that customers are also loving the use of Windows."
Korst added that the coming refresh plans represent the biggest-ever single attempt at "upgrading the base we have ever had in Windows".
For device makers, the launch date varies by OEM and by country. HP, for instance, has been quite vocal that it will have Windows 10 devices for sale on 29 July.
"I know some of the OEMs have plans to have devices available on that date. Now our expectations is that will increase over August and September and into the holiday period where we will have a continually growing ramp of pre-installed devices available to retail and online," said Korst.
Any devices bought at retail will have free upgrades to Windows 10, and certain retails, such as Dixons in the UK and Best Buy in the US, are offering free installation support in-store though the 'Tech Bench' service.
Rings and branches
Windows 10 users are being segmented into different "rings" and "branches" that dictate upgrade cycles, including new features and security patches.
The coming version of the operating system has been dubbed "Windows-as-a-service". After it launches, users will receive regular, rolling improvements rather the periodic releases typical of the update cycle of old.
The timing of these releases will be controlled in several ways, with Microsoft also creating safety nets to avoid bugs hitting the mass market.
The user base is being segmented into four "branches" – with members of the roughly five million Windows Insider program the first to receive updates and identify any bugs.
"You have the Insider branch, which is the quickest and most frequently updated. Once we have tested and received feedback from the Insider branch, we go to the Current branch, which is the one all consumers will be on." Some companies, perhaps SMBs that want the "the latest and greatest", can also sit on the Current branch.
"The next branch is the Current Branch for Business. After it has gone through Insider validation and it has gone through the consumer market, now we make it available to the business branch. Then there is a fourth branch, which is Long Term Servicing branch – this is a branch that remains with no changes for 10 years. This is a branch that things like a heart rate monitor or submarine or flight control systems may be on."
One corporate customer might choose to have multiple branches within their organisation, said Korst. At a bank, for instance, the ATMs might be on Long Term Servicing branch, while tellers would be on the Current Branch for Business, and the private wealth management professionals might be on the Current branch.
Microsoft is also launching Windows Update for Business, a new offering through which the company will update and maintain Windows Pro and Windows Enterprise devices for free.
Windows Update for Business also introduces new jargon: distribution rings.
These "rings" are pre-determined groups that allow administrators to finely tune which devices within the same organisation go first with updates. "The enterprise can create rings within the enterprise environment, so they can determine the first set of users who will get this update, then more broadly deploy it," said Korst.
He also explained how Microsoft will avoid new tweaks to Windows 10 breaking third-party applications, and how external developers can ensure their products are compatible with the latest version of the OS.
"This has been the largest focus on upgrading the base we have ever had in Windows, a concerted engineering effort to make sure that Windows 7 and Windows 8 customers are going to be able to upgrade easy and have a great experience and a huge part of that is app compatibility," said Korst.
Internally, Microsoft operates a "large organisation" responsible for this, called DX, or Developer Experience.
After apps pass DX, there is another safety mechanism – the Insider branch, which will also test app compatibility before the Windows 10 upgrade rolls out to the Current branch.
Steven Kiernan is a guest of Microsoft at Worldwide Partner Conference in Orlando.
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