14 DAY TRIAL // Windows 8.1 will be released in less than a month, so seeing Microsoft talking big about its new operating system is not at all surprising.
The company used the 2013financial analyst meeting to praise the enterprise features of Windows 8.1, with Kevin Turner, chief operating officer, claiming that Microsoft’s new OS update is the right choice for most, if not all, businesses out there.
While Windows 8.1 is also a great update for consumers looking to get a more user-friendly working environment, it also brings lots of improvements for enterprises, including mobile device management, better VPN support and enhanced remote control.
“In 8.1, we've got some incredible enterprise features. We've got tremendous IT controls built into 8.1. We've got the ability to do remote data business removal. We've got open mobile device management available so you no longer have to have a server at your enterprise to be able to manage the mobile devices,” Turner explained during his keynote.
“We've got something called workplace join, which is very exciting. The ability for someone to show up at work with their own personal device, for them to be able to use workplace join, for the enterprise to be able to control the business data on that personal device, and in the event that employee leaves the company, loses the device, the corporation, the enterprise, has the ability to remotely wipe and clean the business data only on that device without touching, harming, or impacting the personal data.”
Microsoft bets big on Windows 8.1, as the new OS is supposed to lend a hand to Windows 8, the modern platform that has until now failed to excite.
Statistics provided by Net Applications indicate that only approximately 7 percent of the computers worldwide are powered by Windows 8, while XP, the aging OS that will be retired soon, is still powering 33 percent of the systems.
Windows 8.1 is trying to gain market share by addressing and improving the most controversial features of Windows 8, including the lack of a Start button, the Start screen, and options to skip the Modern UI and boot directly to desktop.