14 DAY TRIAL // While NetMarketShare data shows that Windows 10 is only now getting close to overtaking Windows 7, figures offered by StatCounter indicate that the switch of places has already taken place and now the latest OS version is running on more than 50 percent of PCs worldwide.
This new batch of market share number puts Windows 10 on the leading spot with 51.94% share, up from 50.07% in September 2018.
Windows 7, on the other hand, is the runner-up with declining share. It’s now powering 36.31% of global computers, down from 37.2% the month before.
All the other OS versions are far behind, with Windows 8.1 still said to be third thanks to a share of 7.02%, followed by Windows XP with 2.16%.
Windows 7 getting closer to EOL
Without a doubt, the growth of Windows 10 would continue in the coming weeks and months, especially as Microsoft continues the work on new OS feature updates, but also because more users leave Windows 7 behind and upgrade their systems.
Windows 7 is projected to reach the end of support in January 2020, and beyond this date, no new security patches would be shipped to computers still running it.
While the majority of home users have already upgraded to Windows 10, enterprises need more time to complete the process, and it’s expected that many of them would begin the process in the remaining months until the 2020 deadline.
However, there’s a big chance that not all companies would meet the upgrade target, and a number of systems may remain on Windows 7 even before the end of support is announced. A similar thing happened in 2014 when Microsoft pulled Windows XP, so it’s critical for enterprises to prepare for the upgrade process in advance in order to make sure that deployment of Windows 10 would be completed smoothly on all their workstations.