14 DAY TRIAL // While Steve Ballmer says that Windows 8 will change the world thanks to its improvements, Salesforce.com’s CEO Marc Benioff thinks that this new OS marks the end of Windows.
Basically, Windows 8’s fatal mistake is that it forces users and companies to upgrade or abandon Windows entirely in a market that already comes with many more alternatives, Benioff explained.
"Am I going to Windows 8, or am I going to something else," Benioff was quoted as saying by ComputerWorld.
What’s more, he called Windows an “irrelevant” operating system, mostly because it doesn’t comprise features that could take advantage of new technologies. Services offering cloud support are the future, the Salesforce.com CEO explained, pointing out that Windows had no chance to face competition on the long term.
"Now, we're not completely there," Benioff added. "Everything is not heterogenous client, everything is not LTE, everything is not cloud ... But we're going to this great new place in our industry."
Benioff has also explained that Microsoft’s efforts to tackle the PC market don’t make much sense, as more and more companies are now pondering the possibility to dump desktop computers in the favor of portable devices.
Windows 8, however, will also be available on tablet devices and mobile phones, while Microsoft has already unveiled pricing of its first tablet ever called Surface.
"Her goal is to get rid of all of the PCs," Benioff said about a global CIO who planned to abandon the traditional computer.
"She doesn't see a demand curve from users for PCs." Instead, the CIO is hoping to move to a BYOD (bring-your-own-device) approach, Benioff said. Next-generation mobile devices have "forced CIOs to make changes already," he added.