Survey: Many Enterprises Will Implement Windows 10 Within a Year
IT pros apparently plan to give Windows 10 a warmer welcome than they gave Windows 8 when it arrived, according to an online survey of Redmond magazine readers conducted during December and early this month. A respectable 41 percent said they plan to deploy PCs with Windows 10 within a year after it ships and 30 percent will go with Windows 8.1, the survey shows.
To put that in perspective, nearly two years ago only 18 percent of Redmond magazine readers said they planned to deploy Windows 8 in a survey fielded six months after that operating system shipped. The 41 percent now saying they will deploy Windows 10 was all the more respectable given it ranked second when asked which of Microsoft's "newer" offerings they plan to deploy this year. Topping the list, to no surprise, was Office 365, where nearly 46 percent say they plan to deploy it this year. Many respondents also plan to deploy Lync, Azure IaaS and Azure Active Directory this year.
To be sure, in a different question where Windows 10 was not an option (since it's still in Technical Preview), respondents overwhelmingly see Windows 7 as their client platform of choice to replace aging PCs, though not as many as in previous years, which is to be expected. Here's the breakdown of PC replacement plans:
- Windows 7: 57%
- Windows 8.1: 30%
- Virtual desktop/thin client: 6%
- Whatever employee requests: 1%
- Linux: 1%
It stands to reason that those that have started to mix Windows 8.1 devices into their shops will continue doing so. Anecdotally, though, I'm hearing many are awaiting the arrival of Windows 10 before making any firm commitments.
While it's hard to predict how IT decision makers ultimately will choose to replace aging desktops and portable PCs, it appears both Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 for now are the likely favorites among this audience in the coming year.
Drop me a line if you want to share your top IT priorities for 2015. I'm at [email protected].
Posted by Jeffrey Schwartz on 01/07/2015 at 1:02 PM