Because different kinds of computer users need different features in their operating system, Microsoft offers multiple editions of Windows Vista, each oriented to the needs of specific types of customers.

With Windows XP, Microsoft offered six editions: Home Edition, Media Center Edition, Professional, Tablet PC Edition, Professional x64 Edition and, in selected emerging markets, Starter Edition. Windows XP Home Edition and Windows XP Professional targeted the needs of specific types of customers, while the other editions aligned with specific PC hardware configurations.
 

The different Windows Vista editions are optimized around key audiences—consumers, small businesses, and medium and large organizations—and usage scenarios within each of these segments. The main goal of the Windows Vista lineup is to more closely align the product offerings with customer demand, rather than forcing customers to make tradeoffs between functionality and form factors. Now, for each major customer segment—consumer, small business, and medium and large business—Microsoft offers at least one entry-level edition and a premium edition.

For consumers in developed markets, Home Basic is the entry-level edition and Home Premium is the more fully-featured, mainstream edition.
Windows Vista Business is the mainstream SKU for businesses of all sizes. Windows Vista Enterprise is the premium business SKU, focusing on the needs of organizations with global, highly complex IT infrastructures. Windows Vista Enterprise is available only to organizations with desktops covered by Software Assurance agreements or with a Microsoft Enterprise Agreement that includes the Windows desktop component.

For the most demanding consumer and small business users who want to take advantage of every available feature in Windows Vista, Microsoft offers Windows Vista Ultimate, which includes all operating system features available across all customer segments. While Windows Vista Ultimate is a valuable offering for a wide variety of customers, the most significant customer audience is the “dual user”—the person who wants to have a single PC for both work and personal activities including digital entertainment. Small business users might also choose it for the advanced data protection capabilities of Windows BitLocker Drive Encryption.

A goal of the Windows Vista SKU strategy is to make key technologies more broadly available. For example, Windows Media Center, a separate product edition of Windows XP, is now included as functionality in the Home Premium and Ultimate editions of Windows Vista. And Tablet PC, also a separate Windows XP edition, is now included as a capability in the Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, Enterprise, and Ultimate editions. One more example is 64-bit computing—with Windows Vista, you no longer need to choose between 32-bit and 64-bit versions. Both versions are available with every product edition except Starter.