If you’re still scratching your head over why HP is pushing Windows 7 over Windows 8, this might give you a clue. Shawn Allaway, the CEO of Windows migration assistance firm ConverterTechnology, tells Network World that the impending death of Windows XP has led many of his customers to ask about upgrading their systems… but not to Windows 8. In fact, Allaway says that none of his customers have chosen Windows 8 so far and most of them will likely upgrade to Windows 7 instead.
“They’re looking for stability, not necessarily the cutting edge,” explains Allaway, whose customers include Harley Davidson, Kohl’s and the U.S. Airforce. “Once an operating system is stable and locked down they fight hard to keep it there as long as they can.”
With that in mind, Allaway says that many IT departments simply don’t want to invest the resources training their company’s workers on how to use Windows 8 when Windows 7 is much more familiar to them. What’s more, he says businesses are betting that Microsoft will release a vastly improved new operation system that’s tailored more toward desktop users in the future, which means that there’s really no urgency to upgrade to Windows 8 since Windows 7 support doesn’t end until 2020.
Windows 8 has certainly had a troubled rollout over its first year and things have gotten so bad that Microsoft employees are reportedly referring to it as “the new Vista” due to its lack of market acceptance.
