How does the introduction of Windows 10 by Microsoft in July 2015 compare with previous releases? Has Microsoft’s new operating system taken the market place by storm? The following information on the Windows Supersite blog (http://winsupersite.com/windows-10/windows-10-momentum) gives a sense of how this new release compares with previous releases:
“Earlier today we learned via a tweet storm from Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft’s CVP for Marketing in the Windows and Devices group, that Windows 10 is now installed on over 75 million devices in its first month of availability.
That is an overall average of 2.5 million upgrades per day since its release on 29 July.”
These numbers allow us to compare the progress of Windows 10 against its predecessors which is fine however, we must keep in mind that the last major Windows OS releases were all not free upgrades.
The only one that came close was Windows 8 when it was offered to new PC buyers at a price of $14.99.
Users who had Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 prior to that new PC offer still got a good discounted price of $39 to purchase the Windows 8 upgrade. Even those deals did not help Windows 8 much in the long run.
Windows 8.1 was a free upgrade for users on Windows 8.1 but it was not a major release like Windows 10.”
So with those caveats out there let’s compare the Windows 10 roll out to past major Windows releases.
Windows 95 – 40 million in first year (*)
Windows 98 – 530,000 boxed copies in first four days (retail) (*)
Windows ME – 200,000 boxed copies in first three days (US retail) (*)
Windows XP – 300,000 boxed copies in first three days (US retail) and 17 million in two months (*)
Windows Vista – 20 million in first month (*)
Windows 7 – 100 million in first six months; 450 million in less than two years (*)
Windows 8 – 60 million in just over two months and 100 million in first six months (*)
Windows 10 – 14 million upgrades in first 24 hours and 75 million in first month (via Microsoft)
*Sales numbers from A brief History of Windows Sales Figures, 1985-Present published on 07 May 13 by Harry McCracken in the Technoligizer column at Time.com
Another bit of information bodes well for Microsoft’s Windows 10 operating system:
“In a session with tech writer on Microsoft’s campus today, the company revealed that of the 75 million installations of Windows 10 they announced a few days ago, some 1.5 million of those are for Enterprise SKUs. A number of writers in attendance, including Peter Bright of Ars Technica, tweeted out the information: ‘of the 75 million machines running Windows 10, 1.5 million are running the Enterprise SKU’.’
“The number is significant in that enterprise customers are traditionally reluctant to jump in and upgrade as training issues along with cost (Enterprise SKUs are not free like the consumer editions are), so this comes as more good news for the early adoption of Windows 10.”
So if mid-sized and large companies are adopting Windows 10, which is a cost to them, in an economy which is not the most robust, it bodes well for this new operating system (in my opinion). What does the enterprise translate to from the Microsoft perspective? The following from the Microsoft Volume Licensing website gives an idea.
“The Microsoft Enterprise Agreement offers the best value to organizations with 250 or more users or devices that want a manageable volume licensing program that gives them the flexibility to buy cloud services and software licenses under one agreement.”
While this is a lower limit of the Microsoft Enterprise Agreement, the typical enterprise is a firm with over 10,000 employees. If the estimate of 2 to 3 devices per employee is the norm, you can see that this quickly becomes a large number of users of Microsoft products. Not all of these devices will be using Windows 10, but a substantial number of the computers in the enterprise will be.
Windows 10 comes in a number of different configurations for varying devices. These include Windows 10 Home, Windows 10 Mobile, Windows 10 Pro, Windows 10 Enterprise, Windows 10 Education, Windows 10 Mobile Enterprise and Windows 10 IoT Core.
Again, Supersite blog asks the following:
“Now the big question will be can the momentum be sustained and help them [Microsoft] reach their goal of having Windows 10 on one billion devices in the next 2-3 years.”
Can Microsoft engage the one billion devices in the market place today connected to the internet, given the popularity of IOS and Android? As businesses and consumers want more and faster connectivity between devices, and with security being as critical as it is, the enterprise model is increasingly important. This is one of Microsoft’s core strengths.
Given the expansion of the Internet of Things (IoT), (see my blog Windows 10 and the Internet of Things), the following versions of Windows 10 may well be best sellers in an expanding market for Microsoft.
“There will also be versions of Windows 10 Enterprise and Windows 10 Mobile Enterprise for industry devices like ATMs, retail point of sale, handheld terminals and industrial robotics and Windows 10 IoT Core for small footprint, low cost devices like gateways.”
As a Windows Insider and Windows 10 user since the inception of the beta program, I am confident that Microsoft is going in the right direction with this new, innovative operating system and the Windows 10 storm is real. It is another step in keeping up with the exponential advance in technology in our world today.
Sincerely,
H. Court Young
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