German Government Paying Microsoft Nearly $900,000 for Extended Windows 7 Support

Microsoft ended support for Windows 7 last week. And although it’s been years since the release of Windows 10, a large number of computers around the world still run Windows 7.

With Windows 7 support ending last week, companies are now scrambling to either upgrade to Windows 10 if they haven’t already, or getting extended support for Windows 7. And the German Federal Ministry is one of those.

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According to German newspaper Handelsblatt, the German Federal Ministry is paying Microsoft 800,00 euros, or around $887,000 for extended support on its Windows 7 machines. The German Federal Ministry is paying Microsoft for the Extended Security Updates (ESU) service, with the ministry getting extended support for at least 33,000 computers running Windows 7.

Handelsblatt notes that the German government is actually in the middle of migrating to Windows 10, though 23.5% of its 85,000 machines are still running Windows 7.

If organisations keep sticking to Windows 7 instead of upgrading to Windows 10, the price of extended support is only going to increase. As The Verge notes, Microsoft is going to double the price for extended support per device from $25 to $50 in 2021, and to $100 in 2022 for Windows 7 Enterprise users. Windows 7 Pro users already have to pay $50 per machine for extended support, but that’s going to double to $100 in 2021 and $200 in 2022.

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Conversation 8 comments

  • Daekar

    22 January, 2020 - 9:16 am

    <p>That total number is less than I expected to see for an entity that big and well equipped. </p>

  • thejoefin

    Premium Member
    22 January, 2020 - 9:20 am

    <p>I'm surprised it is that low!</p>

  • Vladimir Carli

    Premium Member
    22 January, 2020 - 10:15 am

    <p>omg. Our small research centre had to upgrade 30 computers from windows 7 to 10, and all 30 had issues of compatibility, drivers, peripherals. They were small but still required to open tickets with central IT. I don't even want to think what it is like to manage thousands of upgrades</p>

  • txag

    22 January, 2020 - 6:02 pm

    <p>England's NHS still has computers running XP. They have committed to 10 by 2023. I wonder what that costs them?</p>

    • justme

      Premium Member
      23 January, 2020 - 9:44 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#515178">In reply to txag:</a></em></blockquote><p>True – but I wonder how many of those machines are embedded in diagnostic devices? Should those machines be updated – yes, absolutely. The problem becomes cost. That said, it isnt like IT managers can say they didnt see this coming, or didnt have time to plan for this.</p>

  • Elwood P Suggins

    22 January, 2020 - 7:17 pm

    <p>Nice work if you can get it…</p>

  • justme

    Premium Member
    23 January, 2020 - 9:34 am

    <p>Wow – that is a lot less than I expected. That seems an awfully low amount.</p>

  • victorchinn

    Premium Member
    23 January, 2020 - 1:33 pm

    <p>Windows 7 support fees is a way to offset the EU penalties accumulated over the many years … </p>

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