Windows 9 may be the most talked about operating system in the tech world right now, in spite of the attention attracted by Google offering Android L and Apple’s iOS 8. Despite what fans of the current Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) may think, Windows 8 is a mess, at the very least in reputation. Windows 9 has already been tarnished by its soon to be predecessor, but that may change with the release of the next Microsoft OS.
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is changing, and it’s for real this time. The company will never be Apple, but it was never supposed to be. Its current CEO Satya Nadella is taking charge, and Windows 9 is at the center of his plan. That strategy may not be to everyone’s taste, but it will make a new version of Windows useful, and that’s what shareholders want to see.
Windows 9 is about devices
Information Week had an interesting report on Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) plans for Windows 9. A piece by Michael Endler, takes a look at what the company means when it says that Windows 9 is about “streamlining” the operating system, and takes another look at what it may be doing to its device strategy now that Steve Ballmer is gone.
According to Endler the answer lies in the union of devices at Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT). The era of Windows 9 will bring with it “premium Windows devices [that] will be as sleek, light and stylish as many of the products currently coming out of Cupertino.” Windows 9 will be “more about below-the-hood unification than a single interaction model that spans all devices.”
That’s the direction Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) promised everyone it was going in when it released Windows 8, and the company’s failure to execute was noticed, even at the shareholder level. That gives Windows 9 even more of a chance to succeed as executives are aware of the shareholder fury they face if failure comes knocking again.
Windows 9 and the quiet revolution
Windows 9 is supposed to be what Windows 8 was supposed to be. The software is going to be attractive, and it’s going to be a unified interface, something Windows 8 could only dream of. It’s going to work on multiple device types without trying to turn everything into a single device, and it’s going to be a necessary upgrade for enterprise, not your only choice when Windows 7 goes out of service.
Everything starts with cloud and enterprise services, Nadella’s bread and butter. The company is going to make its infrastructure necessary to large businesses. The company’s Windows 9 devices, led by Surface but soon followed by a number of high quality offerings from OEMs, will follow as IT acquirers look for the hardware that works best with the software they’ve installed.
If Windows 9 flows from the company’s services like it’s supposed to, and devices simply work as ambassadors for the company’s Windows 9 operating system, that OS will have a chance to shine. If not, the flaws of Windows 9, and there’s sure to be hundreds as with any complicated operating system, will stand out in stark relief.
Windows 9 is a tool, not a feature
Windows has always been sold as a tool to accomplish things. The portrayal of Windows 8 as something beautiful and fun in its own right simply didn’t attract most people. Expect the Windows 9 marketing campaign to stay away from images of children painting on a $700 computer and lean toward direct selling to major corporations as part of a complete service package.
Windows 9 is going to be revolutionary to Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) because the company is returning to where it’s useful, and where people appreciate the features it brags about at conferences.
