Laplink Offering Windows 7 Migration Tool for 95 Cents

Microsoft has put a lot of time, money and effort into promoting the Microsoft Windows 7 operating system. But getting enterprises to move from the workhorse Windows XP platform is an uphill battle — which is probably why Microsoft’s Windows business posted a slight loss in Q4. Enter Laplink, one of Microsoft’s first ISV partners, with a special offer to migrate endpoints from XP to Windows 7 in-place quickly for less than a dollar per machine. Here’s the scoop:

The promotion centers on Laplink’s flagship PCmover software, which added Windows 7 support in the beginning of 2010 to address the fact that Microsoft doesn’t offer its own in-place upgrade path. Since launch, Laplink has aggressively promoted PCmover to the channel. The key value proposition is that Microsoft won’t support XP forever, and Laplink’s solution enables users to take the leap without having to reinstall so much as a single application.

And now, Laplink is pricing PCmover Windows 7 Upgrade Assistant at 95 cents per machine — assuming users pay at least $950 for a license good for up to 1,000 computers, according to the press release. Or, of course, the more full-featured Laplink PCmover Enterprise includes the Windows 7 migration tools for as low as $10 per license. That’s a heck of a caveat, and limits the promotion to larger enterprises. I’m curious what the uptake will be like.

We’ll be keeping an eye on Laplink and Windows 7 both, so stay tuned.

(UPDATE: Laplink got in touch to mention that the tool actually works out to 95 cents per license under this promotion, so all references to 99 cents have been changed accordingly.)