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With Windows 9 on the way, businesses waiting out Win 8 opt for Win 7

Konrad Krawczyk
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Dell Inspiron 14 7000 front windows 8
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With plenty of whispers making the rounds about how Windows 9, the rumored successor to the polarizing Windows 8, will be released sometime in the middle of 2015, some experts have indicated that businesses that are currently running Windows XP are more likely to move to Windows 7 initially instead of hopping over to Redmond’s tiled OS.

Aside from the fact that Windows 9 is on the horizon, other reasons businesses avoid Windows 8 include the learning curve that comes with the OS. While operating system stability and security are desirable traits in an OS from a business/corporate standpoint, they’re not the only factors that are considered when the notion of migrating from one operating system to another is brought up. However, those factors seem to be favored over adopting the latest and greatest.

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Here’s what Shawn Allaway, CEO of Converter Technology, which performs software migrations for businesses, had to say:

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“They’re looking for stability, not necessarily the cutting edge. Once an operating system is stable and locked down they fight hard to keep it there as long as they can.”

Allaway also said that another significant concern for businesses was productivity. Picture a huge corporation with thousands of employees. Now, picture these people, who are either used to Windows XP or Windows 7, fumbling through Windows 8, moaning and groaning when they learn about switching between the tiled and desktop UIs constantly. You can see how that wouldn’t be good for business, and how that could drive productivity southward.

Considering that not much is known about Windows 9, it’ll be interesting to see whether it looks to embrace the tried and true desktop UI, while Windows 8 effectively drove a wedge between itself and the millions of Windows users that had grown so accustomed to the Microsoft OS over the years.

What do you think? Sound off in the comments below.

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Konrad Krawczyk
Konrad Krawczyk
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Konrad covers desktops, laptops, tablets, sports tech and subjects in between for Digital Trends. Prior to joining DT, he…
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