Why Your Business Should Choose Windows Pro Over Windows Home

Windows Home and Windows Pro can significantly impact your company's efficiency, security, and overall productivity. While Windows Home is designed for personal use, Windows Pro offers a range of features tailored specifically for business environments. Below, I’ve listed the main reasons your business should opt for Windows Pro on all machines.

Enhanced Security Features

Security is important for any business, and Windows Pro provides advanced security features that are unavailable in Windows Home. With Windows Pro, you get BitLocker encryption, which helps protect your data by encrypting the entire drive. This ensures that even if a device is lost or stolen, your sensitive information remains secure. Additionally, Windows Pro includes Windows Information Protection (WIP), which helps prevent accidental data leaks by separating personal and business data.

Remote Desktop Access

One of the standout features of Windows Pro is the ability to use Remote Desktop. This allows employees to access their work computers from anywhere, enabling remote work and increasing flexibility. Whether your team is working from home, travelling, or at a client site, they can securely connect to their office PC and access all their files and applications as if they were sitting at their desk.

Advanced Networking Capabilities

Windows Pro offers advanced networking features that are essential for business environments. With the ability to join a domain, Windows Pro allows for better management of user accounts and devices within your organisation. This makes it easier to enforce security policies, manage updates, and ensure that all devices are compliant with company standards. Additionally, Windows Pro supports Group Policy, which allows administrators to control and configure operating system settings for multiple computers from a central location.

Hyper-V for Virtualisation

For businesses that rely on virtualisation, Windows Pro includes Hyper-V, a built-in virtualisation platform. Hyper-V allows you to create and manage virtual machines, enabling you to run multiple operating systems on a single physical machine. This is particularly useful for testing new software, running legacy applications, or setting up isolated environments for development and training purposes.

Windows Update for Business

Keeping your systems up to date is crucial for both security and performance. Windows Pro includes Windows Update for Business, which provides more control over how and when updates are deployed. This ensures that critical updates are installed promptly while allowing you to schedule updates during off-peak hours to minimise disruption to your business operations.

Enhanced Device Management

Windows Pro offers enhanced device management capabilities through Microsoft Intune and other mobile device management (MDM) solutions (available with Microsoft Business Premium licences). This allows you to manage and secure all your devices, whether they are company-owned or part of a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) programme. With features like remote wipe, app management, and compliance reporting, you can ensure that all devices accessing your company data are secure and compliant with your policies.

If you would like to discuss the advanced features and capabilities of Windows Pro or the benefits of purchasing hardware through 1-Fix, please get in touch.