Less flash, more business: why Microsoft is sticking to the basics

Microsoft has gone back to basics. With its latest Windows update, it’s being as cautious as a group of retirees crossing a busy intersection. Apart from the unexpected twist in the name (yes, there’s no version 9), the latest operating system, Windows 10, is extremely subtle. And with good reason.

Based on the preview release, what we know about the operating system so far is that Microsoft decided revert to something much closer in feel to Windows 7. In essence, it seems Windows 10 will be a version of Windows 7 with a few of the best bits of Windows 8 allowed to stick around.

As was to be expected, Microsoft is scratching the tiles desktop concept. No more glitz and glamour. Some notable features Microsoft plans on keeping with Windows 10 include the Snap feature, all apps have a window, the Start button, and revamped Search. But you can read about all these over on Gearburn.

A lesson well learnt

In 2013, Microsoft’s Windows 8 update was introduced with bold new colours, live tiles and other gimmicks not many seem to have got around to ever use, or understand. Ex-Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer was gesturing, pointing at the sky and getting all poetic. The learning curve was tricky though and people didn’t buy it. The figures speak for themselves.

According to NetMarketShare, only 5.6% of all computers moved on to Windows 8 after two years — which, frankly, spells out trial by error.

Microsoft Vice President Terry Myerson further notes that Windows has over 1.5 billion users across the globe. The bulk of its customers — over half of the world computers — uses Windows 7.

Windows 8 was a clear move to group the mobile consumers so popularly dominated by Google and Apple. Version 10, on the other hand, seems to be gunning for its corporate clients.

In a blog post, Jim Alkove who heads the Windows enterprise program management team, elaborates on a few key reasons why Windows 10 is built for business:

“We have built so much of what businesses need right into the core of this product — including enterprise-grade security, identity and information protection features, reducing complexity and providing a better experience for the modern needs of business. We’ve simplified management and deployment to help lower costs, including in-place upgrades from Windows 7 or 8 that are focused on making device wipe-and-reload scenarios obsolete.”

Referring to its focus on enterprise, Myerson notes that “These customers are betting their businesses on Windows — in the first half of this year, shipments of enterprise PCs grew 14%. In that same time period, shipments of Windows enterprise tablets grew 33%.” The latter stat is quite surprising considering Microsoft’s drastic change in focus.

As Bloomberg reports, an analyst at Directions on Microsoft, Wes Miller said:

“The consumers of today are often the enterprise users of tomorrow. We have to see something that keeps moving the ball forward for consumers and tablets, and moving the ball forward for enterprises.”

This begs the question, is this move enough for today’s fast-paced world?