Windows 8, a risk Microsoft must take to stay relevant: Gartner 

Microsoft is taking a big gamble over the next few months with Windows and Office, the two products responsible for most of its revenue and profit. It is a risk that Microsoft must take to stay relevant in a world where mobile devices with new modern experiences are becoming the norm, according to a study by Gartner Inc.

"When the PC dominated personal computing by providing a single device for messaging, Internet access, gaming and productivity, Windows was a powerhouse for Microsoft. However, smartphones and tablets, led by the iPhone and iPad, have changed the way people work, making the PC just one of several devices people use. The PC is increasingly simply a peer with other devices,” said Michael Silver, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner.

With Windows 8, Microsoft is trying to address the excitement of the tablet market by adding tablet interface to Windows. Windows 8 will be formally launched in October.

Gartner believes that if Windows 8 on tablets is successful, it will have many impacts on organisations. There will be many new devices to choose from and users may have very different needs and likes from one another.

"Microsoft's approach is different from Apple's and Google's, where phones and tablets have much more commonality than PCs and tablets. This plays to Microsoft's strength in PCs, leveraging it not only to enter the tablet market, but also to improve its share of the smartphone market,” Silver said.

"Windows 8 is not your normal low or even high impact major release of the OS," said Steve Kleynhans, research vice president at Gartner.

"It's the start of a new era for Microsoft — the RT era — which follows the NT era, which began in 1993 and is just now starting to fade out. Microsoft eras seem to run about 20 years, so the technology underlying Windows 8 will last a long, long time."

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