Windows 8 was launched in October 2012 with high expectations from the market traders and Microsoft themselves. It was believed that this product would help enhance the technological devices that surround us. Before we analyze the sales performance of Windows 8, it is perhaps a good idea to understand the origins of the product which can help shed light on whether or not the targets are being met.
The beginning of 2008 was the best financial quarter in the history of Microsoft. As they planned to build on their financial clout the world-wide recession began to grip economies all over the world and the leading institutes in the world began formalizing extreme measures just to remain afloat. The recession brought a lot of change in people’s attitudes which all organizations had to adapt to. Microsoft was no different, they adapted as well and in deed the catalyst for Windows 8 was the manner in which they envisaged the world to be changing. With financial institutions beginning to struggle, organizations could not be blamed for being reactive as the very fabric of the manner in which the economy was run was being tested.
As the economies began to wither the consumer market suffered as a consequence, this was not a surprise and as a result the big organizations decided to make contingency plans to ensure they were in as healthy a state as possible. After evaluating the depth of the problem, organizations began to position themselves for the future rather than branching for the present. Microsoft did the same and Windows 8 was a result of what they planned for.
Whilst the world was planning how to survive the recession, Microsoft was in a place where they could plan what the world would want once the recession was over. Even though they correctly predicted the recession would be a long one, they also acknowledged that we will come out of it, sooner or later. Windows 8 was the product which they planned would help them cement their authority in the computer and mobile markets.
The best time to analyze a product is not right after a launch as a good marketing can often lead into healthy sales but it is after a few months. However, looking into the sales of Windows 8, the initial sales show somewhat indifferent results. Microsoft announced that Windows 8 had sold the same number of licenses in the first 90 days after launch as vista had, a product which was described as an overwhelming success.
Analysis
The sales of personal computers have been in decline over the last 5 quarters so how was Windows 8 selling the same? Well, Windows 8 was planned for the modern market and mobile was a strong part of that. Windows was now available on mobile devices such as Nokia smartphones as well tablets devices. With the smartphone market rapidly increasing the market had room for an operating system other than the infamous android platform.
Whilst the aid of mobile devices has aided the sales, the real benefit of Windows 8 actually boils down to computers. A custom built PC is the best way to enjoy all the features Windows 8 has to offer offering an advancement on the manner in which computation was done.
Microsoft knows that businesses will always be dependent on computers for quite some time yet and this dependence leads them to envisage Windows 8 being an integral part of our lives.
Windows 8 sales as a result have been improving over the last few months. The initial response was lukewarm simply because of the manner in which the design of the software was setup. As Microsoft has been addressing a few issues like re-introducing the start menu people are generally appreciating the new setup.
Rehan, the author, likes to teach people how to build your own PC and make better use of technology in general.