Windows 10: The Clock’s striking 12 either ways

INDIA: STRANGE but probably true. If you leave a bunch of caterpillars in a circle they will follow their primitive habits and keep moving head-to-tail, towing each other, for days and weeks and months till they die.

Like we said, strange, very strange.

More so when it means that they stupidly starve to death walking this ring, despite visible food around and inside the circle.

Software and suites have for long been complacently caught walking in an endless loop too, dotted with silk residues of its own kind - licenses, support revenue, more upgrades and again more licenses.

This could have gone on forever, as Jean Henri Fabre came to terms with. In Entomology or business world, no species loves evolution unless Darwinian forces come into play.

But now, suddenly, new food is tossed inside and outside the circle, galvanizing attention from all side. New crumbs of cloud are leading to a new path altogether while a feast of mobility temptingly waits to be followed.

The manna of a new world, Cloud-first and Mobile-first are words that have caught the fancy and keynotes of many software leaders, including Microsoft.

What waits to be seen yet is whether a caterpillar would indeed dare to break off the silk route for better wonderlands from here on?

Would Microsoft be able to do it with the next big rabbit in its hat?

The Windows 10 journey has started and how. What happened with Windows 8 and Vista notwithstanding; the excitement, curiosity and fog of doubts are hard to rein in. With effervescent anticipation, some features and previews already on the table and a well-rounded launch expected down the line, a lot is gurgling for this new kid from the Microsoft stable.

A Windows blog captures it self-confessedly: “Windows is used by over 1.5 billion people in every country of the world…but we also know that the world today is very different from the one in which Windows grew up. Today, devices outnumber people. It’s time for a new Windows. This new Windows must be built from the ground-up for a mobile-first, cloud-first world.”

Mobile and Cloud – two hard to ignore impacts certainly. Specially if Microsoft wants to get the moves of the Enterprise ball right. Some say it has already been too late to the party and some still wager hope, so Windows 10 is going to be a much more than just another new version. May be an acid test of sorts?

Migrating Cranes?

David Johnson, ace expert and analyst from Forrester avers that there is a lot riding on Windows 10 for Microsoft in the enterprise."Only about 1 in 5 organizations is offering Windows 8 PCs to employees right now and, with Windows 7 extended support running until January 2020, Microsoft needs to give enterprises reasons to move to a new version before it becomes a crisis.”

Would it be a good leap to consider?

Madhavan Kandadai CTO, IndusInd Bank Ltd. sounds wary enough, “The new offering could be a headache and just another money spinner for MS and its partners. They had just settled down with Win 7, pushed everyone to migrate from XP to Win7 after creating a lot of brouhaha about security etc. This spawned a huge business for the partners who made lots of money to migrate to Win 7. At least it was stable. Just when this didn’t cut much ice with customers, then came out with a buggy Win 8 followed it up with Win 8.1 and rammed it down the throat of customers by stopping sale of Win 7 licenses. Hardly has this din settled down than they come up with Win 10. Either they customers are stupid or they think that the world is only Microsoft or both.”

Johnson’s views shift the lens closer here. Whether or not Windows 10 is a success lies in whether users will actually gain more freedom or more constraints when they use it every day for work. “Much will depend on where Microsoft chooses to draw the boundaries between enabling IT control and promoting employee autonomy." He discerps.

Not far away, assessing the pragmatic side for CIOs and CTOs is Lalit Popli, Head - Information Technology, ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company Limited.

He highlights how enterprise applications need to be tested and due modifications need to be done (if required) if there is any change in the environment before we make it live for user, else the calls at helpdesk increases dramatically.

“With Windows XP migration happening last quarter of the last financial year, we have just managed to stabilize user application for Windows 7 and 8. With Windows 10 being launched so fast, we will have to assimilate the pros and cons and then set-up the test environment before planning any migration. Hence this will take time for adoption.”

UX whistles

Reluctance or incumbency-comfort, enterprises might, understandably won’t be exactly all cliff-perched to jump towards the new version. For instance, Murali Krishna, Joint Commissioner of Commercial Taxes(e-Audit Unit) at Commercial Taxes Department, Govt. of Karnataka shares that their organization is using Windows 8 which is working fine as per their needs, except for some issues on user-friendliness.

As to whether customers should shift to Windows 10, it really depends on individual business requirements, he questions. “If Microsoft claims that the new version is more cloud-ready, it could be a good advantage but for now, we don’t have any specific needs there.”

Talking of user-friendliness, Kandadai remarks that he is yet to see a preview, while he wonders about the eerie silence on this subject he feels as a customer/prospect. “Our account managers are silent on it which means they are wary of pushing this,”

The Windows blog, however captures UI side and device-diversity with a sharp focus. It claims: “Windows 10 will run across an incredibly broad set of devices – from the Internet of Things, to servers in enterprise datacenters worldwide. Some of these devices have 4 inch screens – some have 80 inch screens – and some don’t have screens at all. Some of these devices you hold in your hand, others are ten feet away. Some of these devices you primarily use touch/pen, others mouse/keyboard, others controller/gesture – and some devices can switch between input types. We’re not talking about one UI to rule them all – we’re talking about one product family, with a tailored experience for each device.”

On the other hand of this tight rope, there is the conundrum of mobility that Microsoft will have to balance without any delay now.

Mobility Menu

Incidentally, Android hasn’t let its dominant mobile OS rank slide too much, with a 73.9 per cent share of smart phones sales across the five major European economies as per some latest smartphone sales figures for a recent quarter by Kantar Worldpanel ComTech.

For US markets, Android in Sept 2014, hogged 61.8 per cent, as Windows stood at 4.3 per cent. The scenario in China was 83.4 per cent vs. 0.4 per cent respectively. Apple’s iOS was at 15. 2 per cent here. In Japan, iOS sat at a notice-able 31.3 per cent with Android leading at 64.5 per cent and Windows trailing at 0.9 per cent.

At the same time, there are headlines around Android Lollypop 5.0 and Office-makeover for Android doing the rounds.

Like it or not, mobility and BYOD would be staples of enterprise segment, even if it's just an OS we are talking of.

Another noted analyst from Microsoft pencils in the urgency. Frank Gillett says that Microsoft must show that it will be much easier to upgrade and update Windows, that the new OS will be easier to learn and use for traditional PC users than Windows 8, and that they've preserved mobile capabilities.

"It's a very tall order for Microsoft, but they have to reinvigorate Windows in order to remain relevant in the mobile- and cloud-first world that it is aiming for.”

Think of the new mobility-obsessed and cloud-wired world of today and tomorrow and it is hard to miss when Kandadai observes, “ They had talked big about Win 7 on mobile which was a damp squib. There is nothing to suggest that they have got it right now.”

As Johnson from Forrester aptly surmises, whether or not Windows 10 is a success lies in whether users will actually gain more freedom or more constraints when they use it every day for work. Much will depend on where Microsoft chooses to draw the boundaries between enabling IT control and promoting employee autonomy."

Meanwhile, worldwide PC shipments have reached 79.4 million units in the third quarter of 2014 and as someone also vehemently reminded the world about some 100 million Windows 7 users out there; perhaps this could be the right time to hit the nail.

One more reason to push the pedal pops when we see some thin but palpable signs of PC convalescence floating around.

Gartner principal analyst Mikako Kitagawa noted in a report pointing at positive results in Western Europe and North America as hints of gradual recovery for the PC industry. “Consumers’ attention is slowly going back to PC purchases as tablet adoption peaked with mainstream consumers. The transition from PCs to tablets has faded as tablet penetration has reached the 40-50 per cent range.”

This way or that way, many needs, taste-buttons, and patience thresholds of enterprise customers seem to have changed a lot. It leaves a lot of spadework as well as deep-digging for Microsoft before the ‘Men at work’ sigh with relief and let the curtains fall.

Joe Belfiore, VP, Windows is obviously out there, seeking ‘your’ feedback with Tech Previews so that you can influence Windows 10 as they are building it - equipping it with multi-device muscle and updating some rough edges, as he puts it.

Apparently, with the Insider program, the company is beckoning its most enthusiastic Windows customers to shape Windows 10 with it. That could really re-define a lot of gaps and wedges, provided that happens at the right time and pace.

Being consumer-wired with mobility and new interfaces, and doing that, without plugging off from what enterprises quintessentially need – that is what would translate into an entirely new and much-awaited balancing act for Windows 10.

It takes a lot of pain and shedding of old parts but Butterflies, can, and do come out of caterpillars only.

New Wings or Windows, the clock is ticking.