Windows 7 Installs Still Behind Windows XP
Even though Windows XP is a minus 2 (-2) version of Microsoft’s PC operating system, meaning that it is three versions old, and support for it has been wound down (although not completely stopped) by Microsoft, there are still more computers running Windows XP than Windows 7.
“Other” consists of Windows 2000, Windows ME, Windows 95/98, and even a few Windows 3.1/3.11 (for those that can go that far back).
The real problem for Microsoft, who will be releasing Windows 8 in less than 12 months, is not so much that darn near half of all PCs are still using Windows XP and they are desperate to see the end of Windows XP; but that the Windows XP numbers have basically stopped falling since about Christmas. Which in turn means that the Windows 7 numbers have stopped going up. So if you saw this pie at Christmas it would basically look the same as it does now—six months later.
Why is it so? Why has the adoption of Windows 7 basically stopped? It can’t be because of the cost of upgrading the computer to run Windows 7 because it is a well documented fact that, from a performance aspect, any computer running Windows XP well is almost certainly going to run Windows 7 as well (fast) if not better.
A big part of the ‘problem’ is big companies. Of the 45 percent of remaining Windows XP computers about 85 percent are big business computers. If this 85 percent went over to Windows 7 then that would drop the remaining Windows XP part of the pie down to around 6 percent which would make it lower than the remaining percentage of Windows Vista computers.
So then the question becomes: Why don’t companies move over to Windows 7?
I work in IT/IM in ‘big business’ and I know the answer to this but I might save that posting for another time.
