I read something
today that reminded me how big Microsoft Windows 7 really is. The headline
read:
More than 10% of all PCs worldwide now on
Windows 7
The report stated that “ Exactly 6 months after the launch on October 22, 2009, we’ve
sold well over 100 million licenses of Windows 7.”
WOW…100 million licenses of Windows 7.
Now that’s amazing. What is more amazing
is the report further goes on to state that sales are on track to add ANOTHER 200
million more by the end of 2010! So how do the competitors stack up?
Many people state that Apple, Linux and any
other OS really missed the golden opportunity to capitalize on the weakness of
Windows Vista. I personally don’t subscribe to that theory, but I do agree that
while Apple and others did gain market share in Microsoft’s moments of weakness
(a.k.a Vista), it doesn’t really equate to much. Microsoft “weathered the
storm” just fine and once again, laughs all the way to the bank.
Actually, this is not a big surprise for me.
I sat in on a Microsoft presentation awhile back and remember the presenter
speaking about the adoption curve for all of Microsoft products. Microsoft can
wait up till 18 months before they expect to see profit. Windows 7 was not
going to be that extreme even if it had sucked (it doesn’t) but I didn’t think
it would be this strong either. Not many companies can wait 18 months before
seeing their products become profitable. Nice luxury to have.
I go on record stating that what is good for
Microsoft is good for the training industry. Microsoft operating systems are
complex and still offer opportunities for both basic and advanced training to
be designed, created and deployed by the IT training professionals like us. At
the heart of the PC is still the OS and even with advancements in the clouds,
SaaS, Linux, Apple and everything else, the Windows operating system is still
the proverbial 800 pound gorilla.
So how
well is Windows 7 working for you? As always, I look forward to your continued
feedback and feel free to contact me anytime at aust1648@gmail.com
Bob
