by Playfuls Staff |
27th March 2007
Microsoft issued a report concerning first-month sales of its flagship product Windows Vista, which apparently surpassed its predecessor Windows XP thanks to improved security and functionality.[more]
Windows Vista has been on the market since the end of January and according to Microsoft’s recent declarations it has been met with enthusiasm by more than 20 million PC owners worldwide. Since the sales reflect Vista’s “behavior” on the market in just one month of availability, the Redmond giant is apparently on track of meeting its goal of seeing Windows Vista installed on more than 200 million PCs in the first two years. We should assume also that next to the legal licenses there are also millions of other pirated copies of Vista installed.
Microsoft’s confidence in the next-gen OS is based on the fact that the 20 million legal licenses have been sold at a pace which surpasses by a factor of 2 to 1 the sales for Vista’s “ancestor”, Windows XP. But this is understandable considering the fact that XP was launched in 2001 when computers were less numerous than today, and Microsoft hadn’t signed exclusivity contracts with today’s hardware giants to pre-install the Windows OS on their products.
According to Microsoft, the initial figures reflect the broad interest in the security and usability enhancements in Windows Vista.
“We are encouraged to see such a positive consumer response to Windows Vista right out of the gate,” said Bill Veghte, corporate vice president of the Windows Business Group at Microsoft. “While it’s very early in the product lifecycle, we are setting a foundation for Windows Vista to become the fastest-adopted version of Windows ever. Working with our partners, we are helping our customers leverage new tools and programs to accelerate the transition and provide a great user experience.”
Windows Vista license sales after one month of availability have already exceeded the total of Windows XP license sales in the earlier product’s first two months of availability. In January 2002, the company announced sales of Windows XP licenses had exceeded 17 million after two months on the market.
The more than 20 million copies shipped represent Windows Vista licenses sold to PC manufacturers, copies of upgrades and the full packaged product sold to retailers and upgrades ordered through the Windows Vista Express Upgrade program from January 30 to February 28.
Previously, Microsoft had announced that Vista’s debut on the market would definitely boost hardware manufacturers’ overall sales, a fact confirmed by Neil Hand, vice president of Dell’s Consumer Product Group: “Since the launch of Windows Vista, Dell consumer customers have overwhelmingly chosen premium versions of the operating system that enable them to have a richer experience with music, video, photography and other computing applications they choose. Customers' initial experience with Windows Vista has been quite positive, and we will continue to try to deliver the best customer experience possible.”
"HP worked extensively with Microsoft to ensure that our Windows Vista-based PCs offer consumers our easiest, safest and most satisfying technology experience yet," said Mark Sanchez, vice president and general manager, consumer PCs, HP. "We are pleased with the customer acceptance of our Windows Vista offerings, including our innovative new TouchSmart PC."
According to IDC, Vista's impact on the IT market will go far beyond Microsoft, driving revenues and growth for more than 1 million IT companies worldwide that sell hardware, write software, provide IT services, or serve as IT distribution channels. Within its first year of shipment, the analysis firm expects Windows Vista to be installed on more than 90 million computers worldwide. More than 35 million computers in the U.S. are expected to run one of Vista’s many flavors, driving nearly $4 billion in revenue to Microsoft.
In the U.S., Windows Vista-related employment will reach 18% of IT employment in its first year of shipment. While much of this employment will shift from Windows XP-related employment, over 60% of the growth in Windows-related employment will be driven by Windows Vista. Microsoft partners are expected to invest in the vicinity of $10 billion between now and the end of 2007, readying their products and services around Windows Vista and then rolling them out.
Microsoft also launched with its OS the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor. The Upgrade Advisor is a diagnostic software tool that helps customers choose the edition of Windows Vista that is right for them and determine if their current PCs are ready for an upgrade. The Upgrade Advisor beta also will assess if customers' devices will support the edition and features of Windows Vista that meets their needs.
The Redmond behemoth “blamed” Vista’s success on its improved security and functionality. A
report showed that during Vista’s 90 days presence on the market, it has been the least affected OS among those investigated, with XP paradoxically becoming the second most secure OS.
