Will Windows 8 Succeed as a Business Tool?

Predictions…Predictions…Predictions. Will Windows 8 Succeed? Not according to IDC it won’t.

Ok, here’s the tune. It will, but not for PC users. It may succeed elsewhere, like in tablets, or laptops. But for PC’s that is another story.

“Windows 8 will be largely irrelevant to the users of traditional PCs, and we expect effectively no upgrade activity from Windows 7 to Windows 8 in that form factor,” according to IDC’s prediction document.

What that means

Microsoft may be pushing the envelope in the user interface, where it will be the most obvious, but that may be the problem. The PC, while under attack by the tablet format, is not going away because at the enterprise level, the PC does things that the tablet does not. The user interface, at the PC level should not be a reflection of the iPad, if that is what Microsoft intends. No, the PC should continue to be what it has been for 25 years, a business tool. There is no need to the PC to compete with the tablet, any more than the Server needs to compete with the Mainframe.

Coming Too Soon?

Does Microsoft really believe that the Windows 8 model, which they hope to radically change how operating systems work, will be accepted in all its dimensions? The Windows 8 business tool is being challenged.

Several company watchers have wondered about the applicability of the Metro tiled interface on anything other than a tablet. Microsoft isn’t so sure about it either now. Some Microsoft officials have gone out to suggest that there may be some changes on the Windows 8 usability front for those wielding keyboards and mice by the time the Windows 8 beta hits in early 2012. Some reassessment may be taking place because while the competition with tablets may be intense, that is not the same with PC’s. That is still Microsoft’s market; totally.

The developer preview that Microsoft released in September has led to user uncertainty regarding Microsoft’s promise that Metro will be just as navigable with a mouse/keyboard as with fingers/stylus. The point may be that a separation of UI may be necessary to keep the PC market from blending into the tablet market. That may hurt Microsoft in the long run.

Source: IDC

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