Windows 7 is due to be released on October 22nd. Please note, the upgrade to Windows 7 license through Volume Licensing is available now. The October 22nd date is for OEM copies and retail only.

You can get Windows 7 Professional at a 15% discount off the regular price in Open and Select programs.

In addition, through February 28, 2010, customers with active Software Assurance (SA) coverage for Windows 7 Professional upgrade licenses can upgrade to the Windows 7 Enterprise operating system and get exclusive rights to acquire the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) for Software Assurance.

There is no licensing discount for Open Academic or Select Academic customers because they already receive a discount.

When you buy a copy of an OEM license, you have 90 days to purchase Software Assurance only. So if you buy 10 IBM laptops for example, Microsoft gives you 90 days to purchase SA on top of that. Even if you were to purchase laptops through Dell directly, your GreenPages Account Manager can get you SA.

There is a “tech guarantee” called the Windows Upgrade Option which allows customers who purchase PCs with Vista to upgrade to Windows 7 Professional. This is only for participating manufacturers of specific PCs and laptops. Your GreenPages account manager can verify which machines are covered.

Windows 7 has an add-on product called VECD—Vista Enterprise Centralized Desktop which allows you to virtualize the OS on the desktop. But you do need to have Software Assurance on your OS; in other words, you need to purchase the upgrade with SA in order to be able to buy VECD.

• 1GHz or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor


• 1GB RAM (32-bit) / 2GB RAM (64-bit)


• 16GB available disk space (32-bit) / 20GB (64-bit)


• DirectX 9 graphics processor with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver

Windows XP Mode requires either OEM preinstallation or postpurchase installation of Windows XP Mode (which runs on Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate, and Enterprise) or a virtualization technology such as Windows Virtual PC.

Requires a PC with:

• 2GB RAM (32-bit) or 3GB RAM (64-bit)


• 15GB available disk space


• Processor capable of hardware virtualization, with Intel VT or AMD-V turned on

Windows XP users will have to do a clean install. Moving from a 32-bit version of Windows to a 64-bit version will require a clean install as well. The only supported in-place upgrade is from Windows Vista with either Service Pack 1 or 2 to a corresponding version of Windows.

Moving an entire organization to a new OS can be extremely challenging and time consuming. Each of our clients has a unique environment that requires a tailored solution. Call your GreenPages account manager to facilitate a conversation with one of our engineers. Together we can create a Windows 7 upgrade path plan—and a comprehensive VDI strategy—that fits your company’s IT goals and business needs.