Microsoft Windows 10 S is a preconfigured version of Windows 10 Pro designed to be more secure but with the same level of performance. This ebook looks at what the OS offers, who might benefit from it, and what advantages and disadvantages it presents.

From the ebook:

Microsoft Windows 10 S is designed to run on hardware that ranges from small mobile devices with low memory and computational power to powerful workstations with huge amounts of memory and computational capacity. It’s a versatile OS with a secure profile that limits the applications to those verified and available on the Microsoft Store.

By limiting applications to the Microsoft Store, enterprises and IT departments can better control which applications they allow on each piece of hardware. Devices running Windows 10 S can avoid much of the malware common to other versions of Windows 10 and other operating systems.

However, this application limitation does not mean that hardware running Windows 10 S is limited in its ability to communicate with other devices and the cloud. Cooperation, collaboration, and innovation by enterprise employee interaction is still possible, and with the right set of Microsoft Store-verified tools, highly likely.

Windows 10 S is optimized to run the Microsoft Edge web browser, which is further designed to work smoothly with other Microsoft products and services, like Office 365 and Azure. Devices running Windows 10 S therefore achieve their best performance in a Microsoft ecosystem, which may be of benefit to certain enterprises under certain circumstances.

Devices running Windows 10 S can be upgraded to run Windows 10 Pro for free. The process can be accomplished with a simple download from the Microsoft Store and an installation update.

Note: Keep in mind that the transformation works in only one direction—once a device is upgraded to Windows 10 Pro, it can’t be transformed back to Windows 10 S.