Few firms opt for Windows 8 despite steep discounts

Microsoft's XP and Windows 7 operating systems have been success stories for the company unlike the Vista OS that failed to catch the fancy of companies. Photo: Bloomberg

Bangalore: Microsoft Corp., the world's largest software maker, is trying to coax companies in India to switch to its latest operating system (OS)-Windows 8.1-by offering steep discounts, but does not appear to be making much headway as many prefer to continue using older OS versions such as Windows XP, support for which will end in April, and Windows 7. Support for Windows XP Security Essentials has been extended to July 2015.

'One has to assess the viability of such a move for it involves investments, both in terms of time and costs. More critical is what value it brings to the business,' said Harish Shetty, senior executive vice-president of information technology (IT), HDFC Bank Ltd, adding that switching to Windows 8 involves testing every application and upgrading the hardware.

'Honestly it makes no business sense for us to make the switch now,' said the chief information officer (CIO) at the India operation of one of the world's top five retailers, who requested anonymity as the firm has existing agreements with .

He added that switching to Windows 8, or 8.1 (updated version), would require significant training for the company's IT staff, given that its touch interface was vastly different from that of Windows 7.

Microsoft's Windows 7 was built for desktop and laptop users, whereas Windows 8.1 has been built with touch-screen computer and tablet users in mind, given that more users are adopting tablets and smartphones at the cost of desktops and laptops.

'Currently, we install only Windows 7 as our desktop OS,' said , chief information officer of . 'The desktop interface of Windows 8 being different from earlier versions of , it is suited more for a touchscreen environment,' Babu said, adding that had a strategy in place to handle the Windows XP operating system even after it is phased out.

Microsoft India officials declined to comment on the extent of the discounts or special offers that were being offered to companies. It does not reveal region-wise sales.

'I think it will definitely move the needle,' said Amrish Goyal, general manager, Windows business group, Microsoft India, when asked whether these special offers would make a difference and get more customers on board. He cited the example of Canara Bank, which is among clients that have switched to 8.1.

He added that Indian companies such as KPIT Cummins Infosystems Ltd and Bangalore International Airport, operated by a consortium led by the , have also adopted Windows 8.1 'on a large scale'.

Analysts sayWindows 8, or the upgraded 8.1, will not be adopted in a hurry.

In May, technology researcher Forrester Research Inc. published a report titled IT will skip Windows 8 as the Enterprise Standard, concluding that a majority of European and North American enterprises that it surveyed had recently migrated from XP to Windows 7 and were reluctant to switch to Windows 8.

'Due to Windows 7 migration fatigue and still unproven business benefits for deploying Windows 8, infrastructure and operations professionals are unlikely to evolve their desktop OS platform standard from Windows 7 to Windows 8 anytime soon, if at all,' Forrester principal analyst David Johnson said in the report.

The biggest peeves users have had with Windows 8 was that they felt Microsoft had ignored desktop users and was targeting only its mobile customer base, having done away with features such as the Start menu. Since then, Microsoft has re-introduced the Start menu in its latest 8.1 version.

Besides, Microsoft's XP and Windows 7 operating systems have been success stories for the company unlike the Vista OS that failed to catch the fancy of companies.

'It will not be until after 2014 that we start seeing massive deployment of Windows 8,' said Peter Sondergaard, senior vice-president and global head of research at Gartner. 'There's no business case for replacing existing legacy systems (due to huge costs) which is why most companies would rather follow the natural upgrade cycles.'

Goyal of Microsoft conceded that companies that did not have a mobility focus would possibly continue with Windows 7 and were unlikely to switch to Windows 8 (or 8.1). 'Windows 8 was launched with the objective of introducing mobility into the organization. Mobility in any organization is never 100% to start with,' he said.

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