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Microsoft Trademarks "Windows 365"

Posted by samzenpus on from the one-easy-payment dept.

jones_supa writes The talks about a subscription-based Windows have begun again. With Windows 10 those ideas did not materialize in the way that many had speculated. Even though Microsoft has not fully detailed its Windows 10 pricing strategy, it is not believed that Microsoft is targeting an annual subscription charge for Windows at this time. However, it turns out that Microsoft has recently filed for a trademark for Windows 365, which adds a bit of fuel to the subscription based version of Windows. As of right now, Microsoft has only claimed this branding right, but as for what they will do with it, only time will tell. Deep inside the company, the idea is clearly still bubbling there.

2 of 191 comments (clear)

  1. Re:failure imminent by Richard_at_work · · Score: 3, Informative

    As per July 2014, MS was hauling in $2.5Billion in revenue for Office 365, an increase of 2.5x over the previous year.

    http://news.microsoft.com/2014...

  2. Re:Hard To Imagine... by Solandri · · Score: 5, Informative

    I have my doubts about large customers also. Many stick with a single version of windows for years and years because they want a stable computing environment.

    Microsoft already tried the corporate subscription model with Win XP. Their marketing division talked a lot of their corporate customers into signing on to a 3 year contract instead of outright buying XP. The contract promised an upgrade to their next version of Windows, which was expected to happen 2-3 years after XP was released. Previous releases of Windows had been:

    Windows 3.0 - May 1990
    Windows 3.1 - March 1992
    Windows 95 - August 1995
    Windows 98 - June 1998
    Windows 2000 - Feb 2000
    Windows XP - Oct 2001

    So roughly 2-3 years between releases. Most companies knew full well Microsoft was pushing a subscription model, and were wary. But Microsoft priced it so that considering you were getting two releases of Windows, it was a good deal compared to buying the licenses outright. Most signed the 3 year contracts in 2002-2003.

    Vista wasn't released until Nov 2006 (volume licensing) and Jan 2007 (retail). More than 5 years after XP, and 1-2 years after most of those 3 year contracts expired. There were howls, mudslinging in corporate press, and lawsuits. I think Microsoft ended up extending those contracts by an extra year for free, which still left some customers out in the cold. And on top of that, Vista wasn't considered a very good upgrade so most companies ended up sticking with XP until Windows 7 was released in Oct 2009.

    The companies which signed up for Microsoft's subscription model 3-year support contract felt they'd been royally screwed. It will be a cold day in Hell before they ever sign up for a Windows 365. This is also the best argument against a subscription model - the constant revenue stream makes life easier for accounting, but it destroys the market incentive for the company to make improvements, add new features, and release them on a timely schedule.