14 DAY TRIAL // Windows 7 is projected to be retired in January 2020, but all the data seems to indicate that doing this won’t be easy for Microsoft.
Last month, for example, instead of going down, Windows 7 actually increased its market share, getting closer to leader Windows 10, which still struggles nearly four years after launch.
January 2019 numbers provided by NetMarketShare indicate that Windows 10 remained the number one desktop operating system last month with a share of 40.30%, while Windows 7 was the runner-up with 38.41%.
While at first glance this is good news for Windows 10, it actually isn’t, as it dropped from 40.90% in January, while Windows 7 improved from 37.19%.
The Windows 10 struggle
By the looks of things, customers aren’t very keen on leaving Windows 7 behind, and the next 12 months will be critical for Microsoft.
The bigger problem for the software giant isn’t necessarily the fact that people refuse to upgrade from Windows 7, but that the latest Windows 10 updates do little to convince them to switch sides.
The October 2018 Update, also known as version 1809, became Microsoft’s buggiest release in a long time, with the company itself pulling the update shortly after the original release due to a bug potentially causing the removal of user files.
With such buggy releases, it’s pretty clear that some users, including here both consumers and enterprise, delay the migration from Windows 7 to Windows 10 as much as possible in order to avoid having to deal with any critical issues.
Microsoft, however, has already started the offensive, and the company claims that enterprises should have little to worry about when it comes to the transition to Windows 10. Most apps on Windows 7 should run without any issue on Windows 10 as well, and Microsoft is offering tech assistance to companies that might come across compatibility struggles when upgrading their devices.