Microsoft is encouraging enterprises to take up its upcoming operating system- Windows 8. However, certain industry experts believe that the company will find some difficulty in convincing IT professionals to adopt Windows 8.
At a keynote speech for TechEd North America held in Orlando, some Microsoft executives gave a list of reasons why enterprises should seriously consider adopting Windows 8, which will be available in markets later this year. The event was attended by around 10,000 IT professionals
However, some analysts at IDC, Gartner and certain other IT research firms remain unconvinced that IT wings of various companies will actually upgrade to Windows 8. The reason given by them is that many companies have recently completed, or are still in the process of upgrading from Windows XP to Windows 7.
The new Windows 8 Metro interface, designed primarily for touch-based screens used in tablet devices, has also been criticized in pre-release versions as not being optimized for workplace productivity. Windows 8 will also feature a traditional Windows 7-like interface, but some testers have said that toggling between the two is inconvenient and clunky.
But Microsoft seems hell-bent on ensuring that corporates upgrade to Windows 8. Antoine Leblond, corporate vice president of Windows Web Services, in his speech, said that Windows 8 is actually “enterprise-ready” by its design. He also said that Windows 8 is “a better Windows” than its predecessor, Windows 7.
Windows 8 has been designed for a world which swears by mobility and optimum management of battery life in tablets and laptops. Touch-based screens have also become very popular. People today live on the internet, and require applications and data to be available anytime anywhere, from the cloud.
The Microsoft executives highlighted the fact that the Metro user interface is easy to use and intuitive, irrespective of whether you use touch-screen controls or a mouse-keyboard combination.
They also demonstrated many business applications that Microsoft’s partners have created specifically for the Metro interface, for instance, an SAP prototype application meant for sales forecasting. They added that general look-and-feel of Metro applications is cleaner and superior in a general way, offering a productive experience for the user.
They also explained many security, management, virtualization and performance enhancements in the new upcoming operating system and said that Windows 8 will support Metro-style applications and also applications designed for Windows 7.
