Survey shows Microsoft is still a strong brand

May 29, 2017 09:42 GMT  ·  By

Many blamed Microsoft for the recent WannaCry ransomware fiasco, claiming the software giant should continue providing support for Windows XP and deliver patches for all Windows versions faster, but despite all this criticism, Microsoft remains a well-loved brand.

Or at least, this is what a new survey conducted by Morning Consult reveals, with 83 percent of the respondents still viewing the brand favorably a week after the WannaCry outburst started.

There are indeed 57 percent of users who said they were concerned about Microsoft products in the future after WannaCry, but on the other hand, 22 percent of them said they weren’t too concerned despite the risks of getting infected. 8 percent pointed out they weren’t concerned at all.

The good news for Microsoft is that 39 percent of the people who participated in the survey claimed they still planned to buy Microsoft products, while only 25 percent said they would have second thoughts when facing such a decision.

Windows 7, biggest victim of WannaCry

Furthermore, a total of 8 percent of the respondents say they are “much more likely” to purchase Microsoft products in the future given the quick reaction of the company to the ransomware, while another 9 percent explained they are “much less likely” do it.

“The strength of Microsoft’s brand leaves it largely unscathed by the recent security issue — unlike its tech industry peer Yahoo Inc. After disclosing its own data breach, Yahoo’s favorability fell 10 percentage points, polling shows,” Morning Consult says.

“Safety appears to be a top priority for people: Most of those surveyed say they are quick to download the latest security updates and have various passwords across platforms.”

For what it’s worth, Windows XP wasn’t the biggest victim of the WannaCry ransomware, but Windows 7, which actually got patches from Microsoft earlier this year on Patch Tuesday. This means that most of the systems that were infected were actually outdated, either due to pirated licenses or because system administrators blocked updates from installing because of various reasons.