In a Wednesday blog post,
Erwin Visser, a senior director for Windows, outlined the features that will be
limited to Windows 8 Enterprise, including the new "Windows to Go,"
which lets IT administrators burn an image of an in-house PC to a USB thumb
drive.
Windows to Go, which Microsoft unveiled last September,
will run on PCs or other devices powered by Windows 7 or Windows 8.
Microsoft again touted the feature as a secure way for
out-of-office workers to access corporate resources from personal or shared
devices, and as a solution to the "bring your own PC" problem of
people using their own machines, which may be less secure and more likely to be
malware infected, to connect with the company's network.
Last fall, Microsoft declined to say whether Windows to Go was
an enterprise-only feature and if it would come at an additional cost.
Yesterday, Visser said that Windows to Go -- and several other
features he called out -- were "available exclusively to Windows 8
Enterprise customers." He also said that what he called "a new
companion device license" was necessary if workers brought their own
devices into the office for use with Windows to Go.
Other features found only in Windows 8 Enterprise, Visser said,
range from DirectAccess, which lets remote workers access corporate resources
without a VPN, or virtual private network, to sideloading of company-built
Metro apps, letting administrators control what goes on employees' devices and
eliminating the need for them to tap into the consumer-grade Windows Store.
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