Microsoft Windows 10 Rollout, Gets It A ‘B+’

Updated on

Microsoft Windows 8 was largely unsuccessful, and it led to concerted criticism of the firm. But Microsoft has done a good job so far in rolling-out Windows 10, and according to one analyst deserves a grade of ‘B+.’

Microsoft creating a “sense of exclusivity”

The Windows 10 launch has been largely applauded by analysts. The latest roll-out is much like other Windows roll-outs, but the fact that it has happened in a shorter time-frame makes it praiseworthy, Kleynhans said.

“If I had to give Microsoft a letter grade, it would be a B or a B+,” said Steve Kleynhans of Gartner. “It’s not an A because it hasn’t gone perfectly. They’ve stubbed their toe over privacy issues, for example.”

Several other analysts are also quite bullish on Microsoft’s performance. Wes Miller of Directions on Microsoft, a research firm that tracks all the Microsoft moves, said, “Windows 10’s go-to-market was really quite good.” The ability of Microsoft to make the people covet the upgrade is what left Miller impressed. Miller notes that the tech firm has a done a good job in creating a “sense of exclusivity.”

Good job with the roll-out

The Windows 10 roll-out differed from previous launches in a number of ways. Previously, a new version of Windows was first released to the OEM (original equipment manufacturer) partners, giving them enough time to pre-load their new devices with the new OS. Only after OEMs were ready with their product, was the new version was made available to the customers, who had to pay for the upgrade. That meant relatively few users actually wanted to upgrade, with many opting to wait and buy a new PC which comes pre-installed with the new OS.

Free upgrades to Windows 10 were made available from July 28, allowing participants in the firm’s Insider preview program to get the first shot at the production code. Thereafter, the upgrade notices were sent to machines running Windows 7 and 8.1 versions, whose owners reserved the new version with the help of an on-device app.

Not much has been said by the company regarding the roll-out except that within 24 hours of its debut, 14 million machines were running on Windows 10. According to Net Applications, a U.S. analytics company, Windows 10 was powering 45 million PCs as of August 8th.

Leave a Comment