3 out of 4 Professionals Plan on Upgrading to Windows 10

Not all new operating systems released are popular. A few examples from Microsoft’s past include Windows Vista and Windows 8. The reasons why they don’t take off vary, but the end result is the same; less users overall than other Windows operating systems. With Windows 10 on the horizon, one has to wonder if it will have a profound effect on the business world.

According to a survey by ZDNet, most business owners plan on adopting Windows 10 within two years of its release; 73 percent of the respondents approved of Windows 10, to be exact. This number is so great that it exceeds both Windows 7 and Windows 8, which makes Windows 10 one of the most anticipated Windows operating systems to be released in quite some time. Here are some of the statistics concerning the update to Windows 10:

• Sixty-four percent of IT professionals said they were most interested in the return of the Start button, 55 percent cited the free upgrade from Windows 7 and 8/8.1, and 51 percent referenced enhanced security.
• Only eight percent of respondents said they were interested in the touch-optimized interface, six percent cited Cortana, and five percent were interested in Hello.
• When IT professionals were asked to disclose their general impressions of Microsoft's new browser Edge, previously known as Spartan, 25 percent said they were somewhat to very positive, 23 percent said they were neutral, and nearly half said they didn't know enough about the new browser to have formed an opinion. Four percent of respondents were somewhat to very negative.

As shown by these statistics, most users are simply interested in the free upgrade and the return of the Start menu. They aren’t too interested in the other new features Windows 10 brings to the table. Still, if people want to upgrade to Windows 10 for the sake of taking back the Start button, that’s good enough for us. At least people won’t be worrying about updating their operating system at a later date. As IT professionals, we’re always happy when we see others taking the initiative to make sure they’re using the latest technology. Even if users aren’t immediately upgrading away from their older versions of Windows, at least they’re planning to do so in the near future.

However, another topic these numbers should bring up is the number of people who need to move on from their legacy applications that might not be compatible with Windows 10. Some businesses have been in the works so long that they are using software that’s no longer supported on recent operating systems, which can be a major pain point concerning the process of upgrading.

What we’re worried about is that some businesses will upgrade before taking all of their legacy applications into account. What happens if a business can’t access their mission-critical applications because they aren’t compatible with their new software? This leads to lost time that can’t be reobtained. Plus, Microsoft is putting a lot of pressure on users with their “free for one year” concept for users of Windows 7 and 8/8.1. People want to take advantage of this boon, so they might jump the gun and get the upgrade before they take note of how it will affect their daily operations.

This is where Computerware can help your business. With our technology consulting services, we can review your current IT infrastructure and advise you in your approach to Windows 10. We look at both your infrastructure as a whole and at each machine individually, so you don’t have any nasty surprises waiting for you when July 29th finally comes around. Give us a call at (703) 821-8200 to learn more.