Would Windows 7 Rub Off Windows Vista Drag?
On January 30, 2007, Microsoft had released its Windows Vista operating system for personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs. However, due to its extensive demand for hardware improvements and other requirements for up gradation, it could not satisfy organizations as well as consumers.
The ten year old horse, Windows XP is still leading the charts with about 65% market share up till December, 2009. Meanwhile, the company has updated its Windows operating system line up with Windows 7 launch, which is supposed to be a better improvement as compared to Vista.
Windows 7
Unlike its earlier versions, Windows 7 is more mature and focused product. The company has made it fully compatible with apps and hardware with which Windows Vista is already compatible. Further, its Aero theme, multi-touch capability, boot time, security, Windows XP Mode, etc has increased utility in the businesses as well as in masses.
On October, 22, Microsoft also released Windows 7′s server counterpart, Windows Server 2008 R2 to the market. Further, reviews of Windows 7 were mostly positive, and it seems that the new operating system will succeed the Windows XP and it is where Microsoft needed to go.
Recent Market Share
It is reported that Windows 7 has been gaining market share at the expense of Windows XP. While Vista still has about 20% share in the market, Windows 7 crossed ten percent mark. Due to increased sales of PCs powered by Windows 7, Microsoft reported record revenues of $19.02 billion for the second quarter ended Dec. 31, 2009. As of January, all Windows versions accounted for about 92% of devices accessing the Web.
Windows 7 SP1
Before the launch of Windows 7 operating system in the market, various research firms said that enterprises should wait for Windows 7 SP1 before switching to the new software. Recently, the company has typically rolled up the improvements into multiple Service Packs (SP). But, as such there is no information about when “SP1″ for Windows 7 can be expected. Meanwhile, leading analysts insisted that it is safe for companies to switch for new operating system.
Is Microsoft wants to kill XP for W 7?
At present, Windows XP is leading the market and Microsoft wants to encash the opportunity for all those people who declined to move to Vista, by switching to Windows 7. To fasten the process, the Redmond Company has introduced EOL (end-of-life) to the nearly decade-old operating system.
The company has announced that it will close down the support for Windows XP SP2 from July 13, 2010, but will offer critical security patches till April 8, 2014. Moreover, from that date, the company will also switch off its support for the Windows 2000 Server/Client.
Discussion
As Windows Vista never comes closer to the XP dominance, the company does not want to repeat with Windows 7. To increase Windows 7 market share, the company has also started various promotional offers to enterprises and SMBs. Further, the company has to focus on the various new operating systems launched by new vendors. The company has also updated its mobile platform with the introduction of WinMo 7 at MWC, Barcelona.
