Windows 8 Enterprise vs Professional edition

Windows 8 RTM is released to MSDN & TechNet subscribers officially, and there are different editions available for your install based on your needs.

1. Windows 8 – a basic edition with limited features comparing to PRO.
2. Windows 8 Pro – for professional use with most of the features of Windows 8. (except some enterprise level features)
3. Windows 8 Enterprise
4. Windows 8 RT – for ARM deployment.

As part of this article we are going to discuss only about two major editions Windows 8 Enterprise and Professional.

Both are similar the major different you can see between them is certain enterprise level usage features are available with Windows 8 Enterprise.

To be exact these are the additional features available with Enterprise edition:

• Device encryption  – Device encryption, a feature introduced in Windows Mobile 6.5, encrypts the contents of a mobile device to enhance their security. Most of the organizations/enterprises would require this feature inorder to safeguard their business data.
• Microsoft Office apps bundled with OS – Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Onenote are bundled with installation.    (Windows RT will have bundled touch-optimized desktop versions of the basic set of Office 2013 applications to users Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote)
• Windows To Go – is a feature in Windows 8 Enterprise that allows Windows 8 Enterprise to boot and run from USB mass storage devices such as flash drives and external hard drives. It is a fully manageable corporate Windows 8 environment.

  It is intended to allow enterprise administrators to provide users with an imaged version of Windows 8 that reflects the corporate desktop and as such is aimed at enterprises. Creation of Windows To Go drives is not supported by other Windows 8 editions.

• DirectAccess –  is a VPN-like technology that provides intranet connectivity to client computers when they are connected to the Internet. Unlike many traditional VPN connections, which must be initiated and terminated by explicit user action, DirectAccess connections are designed to connect automatically as soon as the computer connects to the Internet. DirectAccess was introduced in Windows Server 2008 R2, providing this service to Windows 7 clients (Ultimate and Enterprise editions only).
• BranchCache – a feature of Windows 7 and later, locally caches contents received from a file server or web server to enable faster subsequent uses.
• Virtualized by RemoteFX – Windows 8 Enterprise can be virtualized using RemoteFX – a set of Remote Desktop virtualization technology by Microsoft to enhance visual experience of the Remote Desktop Protocol.
• Modern UI Style App deployment (of internal applications) – you can deploy MetroUI/Windows Store internal applications hosted internally in your organization network.

That gives you an overview of major difference between Windows 8 Enterprise and Professional editions. Additionally you can go through the below links for more detailed comparison sheets.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_8_editions

http://www.intowindows.com/windows-8-editions-comparison/