Microsoft Opens Business App Store to Third-Party Software Bulk Sales
May 06 2016 - 05:10PM
Dow Jones News
Microsoft Corp. will make it easier for corporate technology
managers to buy multiple copies of third-party software through its
Windows Store for Business, the company announced Thursday.
Although Windows 10 now runs on 300 million devices, the
software giant still needs scads of developers to create
applications for the latest version of its flagship operating
system. Access to the Windows Store for Business—an online
marketplace launched in November that's accessed through a tile on
the Windows 10 desktop—may give them additional incentive.
Microsoft also barred corporate tech administrators from
blocking access to the store in Windows 10 Pro, the least expensive
business version.
The two moves are a bid by Microsoft to convince developers—many
of whom are more interested in writing apps for larger and
faster-growing mobile operating systems from Apple Inc. and
Alphabet Inc.—to create programs for Windows 10. Giving third
parties a channel to sell software in bulk and eliminating a
barrier to the store should make it easier for Windows 10 users to
buy more apps.
"The total available market grows for enterprise apps," said
Patrick Moorhead, principal analyst at Moor Insights &
Strategy, a tech-industry research firm.
The Windows Store for Business is aimed at small and
medium-sized businesses, a group that spends $70 billion a year on
desktop software, applications and utilities, by Microsoft's
estimates. Those companies often use Windows 10 Pro and generally
lack tech departments that manage software deployments.
For now, customers can buy apps from the store in volume using
credit cards. Microsoft intends to add invoicing and volume
discounts.
The latest version of Windows 10 Pro removes the so-called group
policy settings that gave administrators the ability to shut off
access the store on their companies' computers.
"The ability to block access to the Windows Store is typically
for organizations who want more control over corporate-owned
devices," Microsoft said in a statement, adding that the more
expensive Windows 10 Enterprise is aimed at those customers.
Companies that want to prevent employees from accessing the store
can do so only by upgrading to that version.
Windows 10 Education, available to teachers and students, also
offers group policy settings.
Write to Jay Greene at Jay.Greene@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 06, 2016 16:55 ET (20:55 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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