14 DAY TRIAL // Windows 8.1 is not only a major improvement for the current Windows 8 platform, but also another Microsoft attempt to secure the leading spot in the OS market.
Even though the Softies are still holding more than 91 percent of the desktop market, Ovum analyst Richard Edwards explains that Microsoft’s days of total domination are over and the new Windows 8.1 won’t stop this decline.
Edwards said in an interview with The Register that Windows 8.1 will indeed bring plenty of security improvements, including new options for enterprises, but they’re unlikely to make a difference in the current market.
“The new security and connectivity features of Windows 8.1 announced this week will be of interest to enterprise IT professionals, but they are unlikely to boost demand from the workforce or sales within the consumer market,” he was quoted as saying by the aforementioned source.
“Microsoft has the resources to ‘fix’ Windows 8, but it should realize that its days of almost total domination are now over. Diversity is now a fact-of-life within in the world of end user computing, with BYOD and BYOA redefining the corporate IT landscape.”
At this point, Windows is powering 91.67 percent of the world’s computers, according to figures provided by market researcher Net Applications for the month of May 2013.
Mac is still far behind with 7.07 percent, while Linux comes third with 1.26 percent.
As far as Windows 8 is concerned, Microsoft’s latest operating system has a share of 4.27 percent, enough to become the world’s fourth most popular OS. Windows 7 leads the rankings with 44.85 percent of the market, while XP is next with 37.74 percent.
Windows 8.1 is set to arrive on June 26 in preview form, while the stable build is slated to go live later this year, possibly in August.