Windows 8 won't hit critical mass in enterprises, Forrester says
The new OS isn't expected to ever reach 50 percent adoption in workplace PCs,
according to the IT research firmWindows 8, the most significant upgrade to
Microsoft's operating system since Windows 95 and one of the most important
products in the company's history, will not achieve enough adoption in
enterprises to be considered a standard, according to Forrester Research.
By the time the next major Windows upgrade is released, Windows 8 will be in
less than 50 percent of workplace PCs, unable to overtake its predecessor
Windows 7.
"I have to believe Microsoft expected better enterprise adoption for Windows 8,"
said Forrester analyst David Johnson, the lead author of the report "IT Will
Skip Windows 8 As The Enterprise Standard," released Thursday.
As it is, most enterprises have either recently migrated from Windows XP to
Windows 7, or are in the process of doing so. In a Forrester survey of European
and North American enterprises and SMBs conducted in last year's third quarter,
Windows 7 was on almost half of respondents' PCs and Windows XP had a 38 percent
share. Respondents further said that they forecast having Windows 7 on 60
percent of their PCs a year later, and Windows 8 on 26 percent.
Factors affecting enterprises' interest in and adoption of Windows 8 are varied,
according to Johnson. IT pros aren't generally convinced that Windows 8 offers
their companies a marked improvement over Windows 7, which has proven to be a
solid, stable OS.
In fact, many IT departments are concerned about some elements of Windows 8,
such as its radically redesigned user interface -- based on tile icons and
optimized for touch screens -- and how much of a learning curve it will
represent for their end users.
There is also skepticism over how that so-called "Modern UI" interacts with the
more traditional one that is also included with the new OS for running Windows 7
applications. "There isn't a truly seamless experience between the two
interfaces," Johnson said.
Another concern are the cost and effort involved in upgrading desktop OSes
across an enterprise, a process that causes "migration fatigue" and makes
companies unlikely to embark in shortly after finishing it.
With Windows 8, Microsoft is hoping to improve Windows' weak presence in tablet
devices, but iPads and to a lesser extent Android tablets remain the preferred
options.
Windows RT, the Windows 8 version designed for ARM-based devices, has also hurt
OS adoption in the enterprise for several reasons, such as its inability to run
Windows 7 and XP applications and its limited IT control capabilities.
Microsoft officials said recently that an update, called Windows 8.1, will be
released as a preview in late June and in final form before the end of the year,
but they haven't provided any details about what will be new or changed in terms
of features and functionality. They have only suggested that the Start button
and menu might be restored.
Thus, it's hard to tell if Windows 8.1 will be compelling enough to change the
adoption plans of enterprises, but even if it doesn't, IT departments need to be
ready to deploy Windows 8, according to Johnson.
Those rollouts may be limited to special sets of users or scenarios, such as a
new fleet of tablet devices, but interest on Windows 8 is high among end users,
more so than among IT pros. A Forrester survey in last year's fourth quarter
showed that 38 percent of employees would prefer to have Windows 8 on their work
PC, while 35 percent expressed a preference for Windows 7. Also of significance
was that when asked about their work tablet preference, 26 percent chose the
iPad, while 20 percent picked a Windows 8 tablet.
As a result, IT departments need to be ready for the arrival of Windows 8
devices in their enterprises, whether the adoption is led from the top down or
whether it's via a BYOD situation in which employees bring their personal
Windows 8 tablets to work.
Johnson recommends that IT departments first and foremost accelerate and
complete their Windows 7 migrations, because this move from Windows XP will put
their enterprises' IT infrastructures in much better shape to accommodate
Windows 8 machines.
Also, they should implement a formal BYOD policy and program, because it's
likely that Windows 8 devices will begin to appear in their enterprises in this
manner. "With Windows 8, you should understand how to support BYOD scenarios and
be opportunistic about finding applications for tablets, because they may prove
useful in many instances," he said.
Johnson also recommends implementing and expanding application and desktop
virtualization, as well as testing and piloting Windows 8, its applications and
its devices with a variety of employees from different departments.
