The Hindu Business Line : ‘Microsoft is listening to users’

For every dollar earned by Microsoft from Windows 7 from October 2009 to December 2010, the Indian ecosystem (including hardware, software and services providers) will generate $17.58 in revenues.

How are industry watchers assessing the new release from Microsoft? Here are some takeaways, from analyst firms.

Frost & Sullivan

Windows 7 is the first personal computer OS to come out of Microsoft that does not require more advanced machines to run than prior versions.

This will mean significant upgrade revenue for Microsoft, without any hardware upgrade, thus separating Microsoft from PC vendors in the next upgrade cycle.

With Windows 7, we see a change in the way Microsoft listens to users and how that translates into updates that people are waiting for. It is because of this that Win 7 will be a pleasant surprise to many users.

Windows 7 can easily add one-two years to many PCs in the installed base today and for the upgrade cost it is well worth it compared with the cost of buying a new PC.

IDC

For every dollar earned by Microsoft from Windows 7 from October 2009 to December 2010, the Indian ecosystem (including hardware, software and services providers) will generate $17.58 in revenues. It would also contribute to the creation of nearly 2.35 lakh jobs or 19 per cent of all IT employment in the country.

Gartner

Plan to be off XP by 2012: Microsoft will support Windows XP with security fixes up to April 2014 but independent software vendors (ISVs) may stop testing earlier.

Organisations that get off Win XP by end of 2012 will avoid significant problems.

Start working on Migration projects now: Typically, companies spend 12-18 months testing and planning before deploying a new client OS. Delays now will only result in added costs later. In fact, waiting for SP1 shipping too is not advisable.

Don’t skip Windows 7: Windows 7 is a ‘polishing’ release atop the architectural change that Vista ‘plumbing’ release delivered. Polishing releases are not to be skipped. Companies that skipped Windows 2000 waiting for XP had problems spanning the gap.

Those who adopted Windows 2000 and tried to skip XP, waiting for Vista, had a much harder time.

KBK

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