The demise of Windows 7 is expected to generate an avalanche of upgrades to Windows 10, and Microsoft says that the 2009 operating system is already driving the momentum of its latest platform.
Speaking about the first quarter results, Amy Hood, executive vide president and chief financial officer at Microsoft, explained that the approaching Windows 7 deadline helped fuel the Windows 10 momentum, mostly as more businesses upgrade their fleets to prepare for the full retirement of the old platform.
“In Windows, OEM non-Pro revenue declined 7 percent, below the consumer PC market with continued pressure in the entry level category. OEM Pro revenue grew 19 percent, ahead of the commercial PC market, driven by strong Windows 10 demand and momentum in advance of Windows 7 end of support. Inventory levels ended the quarter in the normal range,” Hood explains.
Windows 7 set to go dark on January 14
Windows OEM revenue increased 9% during the quarter, while Windows Commercial products and cloud services revenue recorded a boost of 26% in Q1.
Hood says Microsoft expects the same trend to continue in the current quarter, especially as we get closer to the moment Windows 7 is retired. According to Microsoft’s lifecycle calendar, Windows 7 will receive the last updates on January 14, 2020.
“In More Personal Computing, we expect revenue between $12.6 and 1$3 billion. In Windows, overall OEM revenue growth should again be ahead of the PC market as we balance healthy Windows 10 demand and the benefit from the upcoming end of support for Windows 7 with the supply chain’s ability to meet this demand in Q2. Based on our customer demand signal and prior end of support cycles, we expect some continued momentum past the January end of support deadline,” the Microsoft executive says.
Windows 7 is currently the second most-used desktop platform out there, with approximately 30% market PC share for the month of September.
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