Windows 8 may have had a difficult start and may even continue to struggle, but this may be a much improved year for Microsoft’s latest OS.
Microsoft has made it clear that any Windows XP support they may have will be null and void as of April 8, 2014, but estimates have it that more than 50% of Microsoft’s enterprise customers are still running Windows XP. The main picture overall though with pitching Windows 8 to individuals and corporations is that there really isn’t anything wrong with Windows XP. As one business owner recently told Windows IT Pro, Paul Thurrott, “XP isn’t any less usable today than it was three or five years ago.” Hence we have one of the various reasons retail sales of Windows 8 to both individual consumers, as well as corporate enterprises has been very slow.Even HP says that Windows 8 is clearly off to a “slower start than many people expected.” They also said that they, “think the combination of a very new experience, a very touch driven experience, and lots of choices over the holidays, it’s not to be unexpected.”
Well slow sales may continue for the new Windows 8 experience may continue because Microsoft is making what many see as another odd marketing decision. Microsoft has officially announced that as of January 31, 2013, they’re going to cut their promotional Windows 8 Upgrade pricing. At the moment, if you have anything from XP SP3 on up, you can upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for just shy of $40. After Jan. 31 though, Starting Feb. 1, though you’ll be paying about $200.Such a marketing move doesn’t seem in line with consumer demand though.The problematic sales of Windows 8 has even caused problems for Intel who saw a nearly 5% decline in PC sales. The Gartner report from which that percent data came from also said that, “Tablets have dramatically changed the device landscape for PCs, not so much by ‘cannibalizing’ PC sales, but by causing PC users to shift consumption to tablets rather than replacing older PCs“. Even the latest Microsoft Windows RT tablet hasn’t done very well though. The latest Microsoft tablet has struggled from the moment it entered the market and began competing with Android and iOS tablets. So although tablets may be what replaced PC market demand, that 5% decline from the PC to the tablet doesn’t translate over into Windows 8 revenue for Microsoft.
It seems one of the real problems with Windows 8 is that people that most people need to upgrade their hardware in order to truly take advantage of it and with the tablet market taking center stage with consumers, the combination of having to purchase that new desktop (you probably won’t really use) in order to run an Windows 8 (which now costs $200) all only adds to Microsoft Windows 8 sales dilemma.
Truly, the real hope for Microsoft seems to be the corporate users. Enterprises tend to like support, for whatever they purchase. With more than 50% of enterprises still on XP and XP support now vanishing, this may be a much improved year for both Intel and Microsoft.
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