Microsoft Knowledge Blast: What to look for in 2023

We’re excited to kick off the new year by bringing you up to speed on all the latest developments in the world of Microsoft IoT with our first 2023 edition of our Microsoft IoT Knowledge Blast!

This month, we have some great news: two long-awaited products are finally released. Let’s dive into the exciting new IoT products.

Office LTSC 2021 Standard – Now Available!

That’s right, IoT OEMs now have access to an OEM LTSC Office product that can bundle with their IoT appliances/devices. Microsoft Office falls into the general computing category as computer users often use Office products in their daily jobs.  But it also qualifies as an embedded application if your dedicated appliance uses software that requires displaying spreadsheets or reports as an example. OEMs may use Office with their appliances if it configures in a way that doesn’t allow users to use Office for general everyday tasks. The appliance requires software that uses Microsoft Office products to support the device. The challenge has always been that the OEM had to procure the Microsoft Office license from either the retail channel, which offers Office Home and Business or via the Open Channel/CSP, which required knowing the end-user at the time of purchase. There were also additional hurdles around offline activation that this new OEM Office LTSC 2021 product now addresses.

It is a single product with a single part number, and it provides the Office 2021 Standard edition with Excel, Word, Powerpoint, Outlook, OneNote, Access, and Publisher.  The LTSC in the name indicates that it is a perpetual license (not a subscription) with five years of support from the date the product is launched (September 16, 2021). Support ends on 10/13/2026. 

What do you get when you buy the product, and how is it activated?

The product is a physical COA sticker without a key on it, like the Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2021 ePKEA product.  The COA sticker is the actual license for Office and must be applied to the physical device for which the Office license will be used. No media is included as you must download the media separately via the Office Deployment Tool. See the steps here.

For the product key, you must use the Microsoft Key Request form to request an Office LTSC 2021 key, similar to the Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2021 ePKEA key. Once you have the key and the deployment tool, you can install Office on your OEM IoT appliance. You can even activate the Office offline without an internet connection if needed. Also, there is no need to activate the license against an email address like the Home and Business product requires.

SQL Server 2022 IoT – Now Available

Launched and available on January 1, 2023 – the newest SQL 2022 version can now be purchased and resold in the IoT channel.  This new product is a binary equivalent of the regular channel SQL Server with only the licensing terms being different and focused on fixed function use cases.

This 2022 edition is the most secure and highest-performing database available from Microsoft, focusing on security, scalability, and availability. If a dedicated purpose-built solution requires a database, this is the one to test to add to your solution.

For the media, you will download the ISO from the Software Order Center, and the Product Key is already pre-populated within the media. This action allows you to use the complete edition for both internal testing and production. However, production requires the purchase of the SQL IoT license. 

The license is a physical COA card, and you’ll provide it with your solution. We even have options for ISVs that do not sell hardware to use SQL with their software solution. We have an ISV amendment you can sign and sell SQL 2022 IoT with your software-only application. Hardware is no longer a requirement in the IoT channel for many of the latest products.

Did Windows 10 go End of Life?

Yes! In the regular channel for Windows 10 Home and Pro, it reached End of Life in 2022 and is no longer available. Of course, there is inventory remaining in the regular channel. However, it will become more challenging to procure a license for the regular Windows 10 Home/Pro, which is the best reason to move to Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC as the LTSC IoT products have ten years of life and ten years of support. You’ll be able to keep buying, selling, and supporting Windows 10 until 2032! It is also important to know that support for Windows 10 Pro ends in 2025 which means you should not be selling your customer a solution that only has two years of support. If you ship an appliance device with Windows 10 Pro, it is time to choose the right channel and use the correct license.  If you are concerned that your device does not qualify, contact us here at Arrow, and let’s discuss it. You’ll be surprised at how much incorrect information is out there. We can help.

What are the most current Windows IoT products?

Our most popular Windows IoT client product is now Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2021, based on the Windows 10 build 21H2 from the 2nd half of 2021. If you are starting a new project, this Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2021 product is your best option, as it’ll receive support till 2032. Also, we now have virtualization options allowing you to sell your appliance as a virtual machine without hardware, enabling your customer to install it right on their existing hardware.

Windows 11 IoT Enterprise – Build 22H2 is now available. This product is not an LTSC product, so each build receives only three years of support. This is still an extra year over the regular Windows 11 Professional and another reason to choose the right channel and move to IoT if you are still using a Pro product. We expect an LTSC edition of Windows 11 IoT Enterprise to be available in 2024.

When will Edge Device Image Builder (EDIB) become available for production?

The availability of this product has been delayed for a while longer. Microsoft has been working hard on additional features, strongly focusing on security. We are hoping it will be available in the first quarter of 2023. Stay tuned on this product; I plan to have an entire series of videos on it once it launches.

Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2021 on ARM via NXP i.MX8 – Now Available

Finally, Windows on ARM is now available via the Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2021 ARM product, becoming the lowest-cost licensing option for Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2021 and focusing on a different IoT edge market space. If you are building smaller yet high-performing devices that can utilize the NXP i.MX8 family of processors, this could be a fantastic product to try out. It is a full Windows 10 IoT Enterprise version and supports Win32 applications. You can download it today and test your applications.

Our team is here is to support you with all of your Microsoft IoT questions. Shoot us an email at  windowsIoT@arrow.com to let us know how we can help.