14 DAY TRIAL // Windows 9 is the next big thing coming out of Microsoft in the operating system business, with people close to the matter recently suggesting that Redmond could even offer it free of charge to Windows XP, Vista, and 7 users, in an attempt to boost adoption of this product.
Microsoft’s former Distinguished Engineer and General Manager Hal Berenson, currently president of True Mountain Group, says that offering Windows 9 free of charge perfectly makes sense because such a plan would only help move users to this new OS version, without affecting the company’s business.
In a post on his blog, Berenson writes that seeing Microsoft offering Windows 9 for free wouldn’t be so surprising because the company’s cash cow in the Windows unit is mostly the Enterprise version, which would probably remain available with a fee.
“This is neither surprising nor particularly significant financially. Recall that the vast majority of Windows revenue comes from two sources, new copies of Windows licensed through OEMs for new devices and volume licensing agreements with enterprises,” he says, emphasizing that this is only his opinion and not information based on internal sources.
The Enterprise build of Windows 9, he continues, will most likely still be provided with a price for adopters, and offering the operating system with a freeware license to customers won’t lead to a significant financial loss for the company.
“The Enterprise version of Threshold is unlikely to be free, unless of course you essentially already paid for it by having Software Assurance. And the OEM version is only free for small form factor devices that currently are not a material part of the business,” he adds.
“So free upgrades is a nice way to encourage adoption, but its financial impact should be negligent in the short-term (and positive in the long-term if it does encourage adoption).”
All these assumptions actually do make sense because Microsoft needs to boost adoption of its modern operating system, which has until now failed to gain traction.
Windows 9 is expected to launch in April 2015, with people close to the matter saying that Microsoft is already hard at work to make this particular OS version a hit and implement some pretty big changes, including new features such as a Start menu and options to run Metro apps on the desktop.
Two beta versions of Windows 9 could be released, including one that might see daylight later this year for developers.