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Windows for Small and Midsize Business

Windows editions comparison chart

Windows 7 Professional: the right choice for today's business environment

Genuine Windows 7 Professional can help keep your business running in today's changing marketplace.

Windows 7 brings:

  • The latest innovations in search, ease of use, mobility, networking, and security.

  • Compatibility with a broad set of devices and applications. In addition, Windows XP Mode provides you with the flexibility to run many older Windows XP productivity applications right from the Windows 7 desktop.

The simplified product lineup of Windows 7 is easy to understand. With no more complex choices between editions, all Windows 7 editions simply offer a more complete set of features than the edition before.

Features
Windows 7 Home PremiumWindows 7 ProfessionalWindows 7 Ultimate

Make the things you do every day easier with improved desktop navigation.

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Launch programs and find the documents you use most often—quickly and easily.

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Make your web experience faster, easier and safer than ever with Internet
Explorer 8.

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Watch, pause, rewind, and record TV on your PC.

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Easily create a home network and connect your PCs to a printer with HomeGroup.

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Connect to company networks easily and more securely with Domain Join.

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Automatically send your documents to the right printer, whether you're at work or at home, with LocationAware Printing.

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Schedule a periodic backup to save or an entire system to a network location or a local drive.

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Recover your data easily with automatic backup to your home or business network.

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Encrypt your files and folders to help protect confidential information.

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Run many older Windows XP productivity applications in Windows XP Mode.***

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Help protect data on your PC and portable storage devices against loss or theft with BitLocker drive encryption.

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Work in the language of your choice and switch between any of 35 languages.

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Learn more about Windows 7

Discover everything Windows 7 Professional can do for you.

Licensing overview

Microsoft Volume Licensing solutions provide the most flexible, cost-effective way to give your organization access to the latest Windows desktop technologies.

Upgrade existing PCs

Easy-to-follow guidance will show you efficient ways to install Windows 7 upgrades on existing PCs.

Buy new PCs

Buy a brand new PC with Windows 7 Professional preinstalled and be ready to do business like never before.

* NOTE: Windows 7 Enterprise edition is only available through a Volume Licensing agreement with Software Assurance.
** NOTE: Windows 7 Home Premium is not a qualified OS for Volume Licensing.
*** Windows XP Mode requires either original equipment manufacturer (OEM) pre-installation or post-purchase installation of Windows XP Mode (which runs on Windows 7 Professional or Windows 7 Ultimate) and a virtualization technology such as Windows Virtual PC. Windows XP Mode requires a PC with 2 GB of RAM (32-bit) or 3 GB RAM (64-bit), 15 GB available disk space, and a processor capable of hardware virtualization, with Intel VT or AMD-V turned on. Both Windows XP Mode and Windows Virtual PC can be downloaded from the Windows Virtual PC site. For more information on system requirements, go to the Windows Virtual PC site.