14 DAY TRIAL // It’s well-known fact that some of the decisions that Microsoft made in the last couple of years pushed many users to rival platforms, and both Linux and Mac OS X increased their market shares to some extent thanks to disappointed Windows customers who searched for an alternative to their traditional software.
Windows 8 was the icing on the cake in this regard, and the confusing interface that the new operating system brought had a strong impact on Microsoft’s performance in the desktop, tablet, and smartphone markets, so at least in the last two, Redmond still struggles to compete with its rivals.
Many of these changes that disappointed a lot of people were reverted when the new administration team took over the helm of the company, and it’s not a secret that CEO Satya Nadella wants Microsoft to get closer to customers and build new products based on their feedback.
That’s why Scott Liewehr of Digital Clarity Group believes that Microsoft still has a chance to continue its domination in some specific markets, but he warns that Redmond still needs to play its cards right.
Not all power users abandoned ship
In a statement for Silicon Angle, Liewehr explains that, although Microsoft indeed lost some users in the last couple of years, not all power users jumped ship, so with some good products, everything should be good again for the Redmond-based software giant.
“Microsoft, for now, is really lucky that the heel-nipping competitors haven’t yet been able to win over the power users, but licensing models will change over time and Microsoft products could start to be doled out only to power users while others get to choose less sophisticated alternatives,” he said.
And this could indeed be true. After the Windows 8 “disaster,” most of those who decided to leave were not IT professionals but beginners who found the new operating system confusing and too difficult to use, so power users might again give Microsoft a chance in the coming years.
Windows 10 an essential product
Windows 10 will definitely play a critical role in this struggle to bring back users. According to sources close to the matter, Windows 10 should debut in late summer or early fall 2015, so we’re not very far from the public debut of the new OS.
Windows 10 will bring together all Microsoft platforms, including smartphones and tablets, and the word is that Windows RT could disappear completely.
More details on Windows 10 plans are expected to be provided this month, during an event scheduled to take place on January 21 in Redmond.