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With all eyes on Windows 8, Microsoft caught the attention of industry experts by announcing that it plans to have 70% of businesses running... Microsoft Aiming for 70% of Businesses to Run PCs on Windows 7

With all eyes on Windows 8, Microsoft caught the attention of industry experts by announcing that it plans to have 70% of businesses running their personal computers (PCs) on Windows 7. This was a rare piece of new focusing on Windows 7 as all the hype and limelight has been hogged by Windows 8. According to their plans, Microsoft wants to achieve their target of 70% enterprises having PCs on Windows 7 by the middle of next year.

Prior to this announcement, Microsoft had revealed in the summer that around 50% of PCs used by businesses were on Windows 7. Even though the number is high, Microsoft’s plans were to make sure a majority of the computers were running on Windows 7. They plan to get to 70% by June 2013. Microsoft’s fiscal year ends in June as well.

For now, Windows 7 would have to play second fiddle to Windows 8. Once it is launched, it is unlikely that Microsoft would be able to devote enough resources to boost the deployment of Windows 7 to enterprise PCs. Keeping this in mind, it is ambitious on Microsoft’s part to announce an elaborate plan when clearly they are running short of time.

Microsoft Aiming for 70% of Businesses to Run PCs on Windows 7

In fact, this could prove to be true in the long run. As of now, there is no official word from the company on how they aim to achieve their goal. Some sources have stated that Microsoft has no plan in place at this moment. If this is the case, it is highly unlikely that the company would be able to get 70% of business PCs to run Windows 7 by the end, let alone middle, of next year.

Even before they made the announcement, Microsoft had been under fire for stating that 50% of businesses run their PCs on Window 7. It is stated that the number includes a large number of small and mid-sized firms. Making the transition between operating systems isn’t a big deal for a small firm. However, for a large corporation, it could prove to be nightmarish. There are so many risks plus the hassle of working of logistics of how to make the transition.

Already, some experts claim that firms that have hundreds of thousands of PCs running aren’t going to adhere to Microsoft’s wishes just because they have asked them to. The cost and effort involved is simply too much for a company to afford. With the recession eating away at the profits, this could prove to be an expense businesses would much rather avoid.

The only probable cause for Microsoft to demand businesses to switch to Windows 7 is the expiration date of Windows XP. Microsoft has already announced that they aren’t going to support Windows XP beyond 8th April, 2014. Companies which are using Windows XP will have to upgrade to a new operating system and they should do it sooner rather than later to ensure they can get Microsoft support for it.

 

[Image via komplettie]