Bull's Eye Awards: Products of the Year - Challenger
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Microsoft Windows 7
Easily the most heavily promoted IT product launched in 2009,
Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system is being projected to
singlehandedly turn the industry around for 2010. In July, months
before the launch, IDC was forecasting a brisk uptake of Microsoft's
successor to Vista. The Microsoft-sponsored report predicted that by
the end of 2010 more than 19 percent of the global IT work force will
be working with Windows 7. And for every dollar of Microsoft revenue
from Windows 7 from the launch date in October this year until the end
of 2010, the Microsoft ecosystem beyond Microsoft will reap $18.52,
says IDC. By year end, IDC is forecasting 40 million copies of Windows
7 will have shipped, reaching a total of 177 million units by the end
of 2010.
The customer response to the run-up to the release of the OS has
been incredible. More than 15 million people chose to participate in
Microsoft's Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP) in Windows
Vista and Windows 7 prereleases. Windows 7 had the biggest beta ever,
with 8 million users. Over 600 new feature ideas were tested early in
the engineering process.
Two weeks prior to the launch, Channel Insider reported that
technology vendors were eagerly awaiting the launch of Microsoft
Windows 7 on Oct. 22 the way small children wait for Christmas. PC
vendors, distributors and Intel have said that they expect the OS
launch, plus new products from Intel, to spur a broad PC refresh cycle
that corporations have delayed for.
