First Windows 10 Branch for Business to be retired in March

The first version of Windows 10 released for businesses will be discontinued on the 26th of March, Microsoft has announced.

Businesses still running Windows 10 version 1507, the original Windows 10 Branch for Business released in July 2015, will need to update to a more current branch or be shut out of updates of any kind.

Microsoft announced last year that it will only actively service the two most Current Branch for Business (CBB) versions of Windows 10 at one time.

CBBs are typically released months after the current branch of the operating system for consumers to ensure the builds are stable enough for businesses.

Any companies that have installed the cumulative update from December or later are already running the equivalent of a current CBB, and no action will be needed, Microsoft said.

The Windows 10 Anniversary Update was declared the newest CBB in late November, and is now considered ready for broad deployment for business.

Microsoft last week started pushing the update on Windows Update for Business and similar upgrade services, triggering a 60-day grace period before the sunsetting of version 1507.

The decision to only support the two most recent CBBs forms part of Microsoft's move towards the delivery of operating systems as a service, which requires continual updates.

Image courtesy of Raymond Shobe under CC