What’s Unique in Windows 8 Enterprise?

Windows 8 Enterprise is a superset of Windows 8 Pro. That is, it includes all of the features and capabilities in Windows 8 Pro plus provides some unique new features of its own. These include:

• Windows To Go : This very interesting feature lets you install Windows 8 on certain high‑performance USB memory sticks, providing a highly portable Windows environment that can include all of your personal data, settings, and installed Metro‑style apps and desktop applications.

• Metro‑style app deployment: Corporations can bypass the normal requirement that all Metro‑style apps must be stored, downloaded, and installed from the Windows Store. This capability, called side‑loading, lets these businesses deploy Metro‑style apps within their own environments securely.

• DirectAccess : A modern alternative to a VPN (virtual private network), DirectAccess lets remote users seamlessly access corporate network resources without dealing with the hassles common to VPN solutions.

• BranchCache : Aimed at distributed corporations, BranchCache lets servers and users’ PCs in branch offices cache files, websites, and other content, so that it is not repeatedly and expensively downloaded across the WAN (wide area network) by different users in the same location.

• AppLocker : This feature provides white list and black list capabilities to control which files and applications that users or groups are allowed to run.

VDI improvements: Windows 8 Enterprise also includes improvements to VDI (virtual desktop infrastructure), a way of virtualizing Windows client installs in a high‑end data center and delivering them to thin client machines in a highly‑managed environment.