December 03, 2012, 12:12 Business

Bad sign for Microsoft

Windows 8 doesn't help Microsoft

Microsoft sold 20% less licenses for the new Windows 8 operating system in November than for Windows 7 in the same period last year. This is a bad sign for the company, although the popularity of Windows 7 can largely be explained by the fact that users simply wanted to get rid of the unsuccessful Windows Vista.

In November, sales of the Microsoft Windows 8 operating system were 21% less than sales of Windows 7 for the same period in 2011, writes The Wall Street Journal , citing an NPD study.

Microsoft itself reported last week that since the official launch on October 26 of the new OS, it has sold 40 million of its licensed copies. Windows Marketing Director Tami Riller noted that this is a very good result for the company: sales of the previous version of Windows 7 in the first two months after its launch in November 2009 amounted to 60 million copies.

But analysts at NPD are confident that Microsoft overestimated the figures: in fact, the company sold fewer Windows 8 licenses. They made their conclusion based on data from large retailers: Wal-Mart Stores , Best Buy.

The design of Windows 8 is radically different from previous operating systems from Microsoft. Externally, the new OS resembles Windows Phone 7 for smartphones. The windows and desktop remained, but a tiled interface was added. You can enter data using a keyboard and mouse, or by touch, but experts noted that the design of Windows 8 is maximally adapted for tablets.

But Windows 8 is not popular on tablets either, NPD researchers say, as users prefer Apple 's iPad .

Two weeks after the announcement of Windows 8, Windows chief developer Stephen Sinofsky , a former assistant to corporation co-founder Bill Gates , who was considered a potential successor to the current head of the company, Steve Ballmer , left the company . He worked for the company for 23 years.

A decline in sales at Microsoft is observed even against the backdrop of the emergence of new devices based on Windows 8. The company's management should pay attention to this fact and think about which operating system should be made the flagship, says Nomura Securities analyst Rick Sherlund .

Windows 7 was in greater demand among corporate clients than Windows 8, Forrester Research analysts note. If at the launch of the previous OS two thirds of companies said they were ready to switch to it, now this number is one third. But the popularity of Windows 7 was largely due to the fact that users wanted to get away from the unsuccessful Windows Vista product as quickly as possible, experts admit.

However, personal computer manufacturers have previously stated that they do not expect rapid growth in sales of devices based on the Windows 8 platform. It will take several years until users can get used to the new operating system, they explained.

vice president of the research company NPD It is too early to blame weak demand in the market for personal computers and laptops, said Stephen Baker, . "But while most of the sales are still to come, it's clear that Windows 8 hasn't become as popular as everyone had hoped," he says.