14 DAY TRIAL // One of Microsoft’s big challenges after the release of Windows 8 is to convince users of the previous versions to make the move to the latest OS, not only to boost sales of this particular software, but also to support app and technology development.
Although it’s 11 years old, Windows XP remains one of the most popular operating systems on the market, so Microsoft has quite a hard time convincing users to abandon this platform.
But users won’t move directly to Windows 8, Andy Buss, service director at Freeform Dynamics, told The Register. That’s a big jump, he said, so most consumers would prefer Windows 7 for the time being.
“It's a big jump from XP to Windows 8. Some people will make the leap if there is a real need but many will simply move to Windows 7. Based on past experience we would expect a slow take up of the new operating system and for a few years we'd expect adoption to be modest with many companies hanging back.”
Windows 7 is currently the most popular operating system in the world, according to statistics released by Net Applications, while Windows XP and Vista come second and third, respectively.
Windows 8, on the other hand, is still a new product on the market, but it has already adopted a growing market share. At this point, Windows 8 owns 1.01 percent of the operating system market, while the Linux platform is a bit more popular with 1.37 percent.
As for sales, Microsoft is yet to disclose official figures, but it’s generally believed that Windows 8 fails to impress on the short term. Better sales are expected to be posted in 2013, at about the same time when the PC market is forecast to experience slight increases.