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Topic: Windows

Microsoft: 600 million Windows 7 licenses sold

Summary: Microsoft says Windows 7 has hit the 600 million license milestone and is used on more than 39 percent of Internet connected devices worldwide. Will Windows 8 shake up the figures?

Zack Whittaker

By for Between the Lines |

You may think with Windows 8 just around the corner, sales in Microsoft's current operating system would dwindle or slow down in anticipation of the next-generation software.

Think again.

Microsoft took the opportunity to reaffirm its position at Computex that Microsoft has sold more than 600 million licenses for Windows 7 in the three years it has been on the market, reports The Verge.

Considering Microsoft reached the 525 million license milestone in January, that equates to 75 million in the space of six months. It sounds about right considering its past progress, and shows no signs of it plateauing.

Bets are on that the figure will only rise while Windows 8 will struggle to get off the ground --- at least in the business and enterprise market. Analysts believe it may be difficult off the mark for Microsoft with its latest creation, particularly in the soon-to-kick-off extended tablet wars.

Microsoft's Steve Guggenheimer, who announced the figure, isn't worried.

"This is the biggest launch time in Microsoft’s history. In addition to updating Windows client, Windows Server, phone and embedded platforms, there’s a massive wave of software and services coming to market that we think will delight customers,” he said on stage.

While businesses and the enterprise, in favour of keeping their employees sweet, may leave Windows 8 out to pasture in favour of 'bog-standard' Windows 7, the BYOD push will likely be one of the first entry points for the forthcoming operating system in the workplace.

With Windows XP still favourite among enterprise users for legacy compatibility, Guggenheimer noted that Windows 7 is running on more than 39 percent of "internet connected devices" worldwide.

In May, Net Applications pegged Windows XP at 46 percent in global market share, while Windows 7 was close to 39 percent, aligning with Microsoft's figures.

It may take a while for XP to become truly redundant, end of support notwithstanding. But at this rate even with Windows 8, if the trends continue, it could be another 12 months before the two converge.

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Topic: Windows

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66 comments
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  • Bang up OS.

    I'll be running Windows 7 for a while yet, alongside Windows 8, just as I was dual booting Vista and 7 for a few years.
    The one and only, Cylon Centurion
    Reply Vote

    • I can understand...

      dual booting win 7 and win 8, but vista and win 7? For what purpose? I didn't think there was anything compatible with vista that didn't function in win 7.
      kstap
      Reply Vote

      • Compatibility

        I initially had trouble running some older games, Windows 7 was my first x64 install, so I kept x86 Vista around to run those games. They have since been fixed by the developers to run on x64, but I just now only got around to formatting my system.
        The one and only, Cylon Centurion
        Reply Vote

    • Vista

      I used to have Vista and never found anything wrong with it even though with age it got pretty slow so now I am down to just Windows 8 RP
      microsoftmissionary
      Reply Vote

  • I Wonder If Windows 8 Is Encouraging Sales

    It's possible that the imminence of the release of Windows 8 is actually encouraging sales. The buzz about Windows 8 hasn't exactly been positive so far. It could be that people are thinking something along the lines of, 'I'd better pick up a copy of Windows 7 now while I still can.'
    CFWhitman
    Reply Vote

    • I have to say...

      ... That as a desktop user, I'm finding it really hard to turn down Windows 8 and go back to 7, as the multi-monitor enhancements are turning out to be quite a killer feature. This may not be the case for everyone, but when I boot into 7, I miss them greatly.
      The one and only, Cylon Centurion
      Reply Vote

    • Wouldn't surprise me

      I'm sure many people were waiting to see what Windows 8 looked like before deciding to upgrade. Lots of people are probably discouraged by Metro and decided to just go to the "safe" Windows 7
      dsa791
      Reply Vote

      • Lots?

        I'm sure only a very small number of people have seen more than a screen shot or two of Windows 8.

        You and maybe 3 other people are "discouraged."

        Those of us in tech forget that most people use a web browser and maybe Office. They just don't care that much about their computers.
        Regulator1956
        Reply Vote

      • @Regulator

        Many people don't care about their computer, but those of us in IT also forget that there are plenty of knowledgeable home users too... we just don't see them because they fix their own problems instead of coming to us with them.
        dsa791
        Reply Vote

    • Short answer: No.

      Long answer: The vast majority of PC sales are corporate buys. Which is completely indifferent to operating system.
      baggins_z
      Reply Vote

      • So you found the stats this time?

        [i]The vast majority of PC sales are corporate buys[/i]

        First you said you wanted to see the stats. Then a day later you started stating this as a fact. I have twice previously asked you to share with us the stats to back up your claim. You have been unable to on both those occasions. I trust that today you will be able to provide us with those stats?

        [i]Which is completely indifferent to operating system.[/i]

        You are making a joke, right?
        toddbottom3
        Reply Vote

      • Of course he did, toddbottom3

        but the site won't let you post a hyperlink, so really, he has all the links we need, he just can't post them here.

        No really, I'm sure he does.
        William Farrel
        Reply Vote

      • @William Farrel, I'm posting hyperlinks just fine on ZDNet?

        Could you be a little mistaken? Unless you are being sarcastic?

        For example:
        [quote]http://www.phonearena.com/news/Samsung-R-D-spending-reached-record-9-billion-in-2011_id28667
        Samsung R&D spending reached record $9 billion in 2011
        Samsung has bumped up its research and development investment to the largest in the companys history. Samsung R&D spending reached a record $9.1 billion (10.3 trillion won) in 2011. This is the first time the Korean company goes over 10 trillion won in spending.

        In addition to that, Samsung also invested nearly $20.1 billion (22.7 trillion won) in manufacturing plants. If you sum it all up, the Koreans spent nearly $29 billion on its research projects and manufacturing upgradesin 2011.

        R&D is a crucial investment in the fast-paced mobile industry with only Apple being a notably stingy with research and still reaping huge profits. Apple allegedly spent only around $2.4 billion, fading in comparison to Samsung's $9.1 billion. We have to note, though, that this doesn't take into account the fact that Samsung is fighting on many fronts and there's a difference in scale.[/quote]

        Or Samsung invests $41.4 billion dollars in 2012:
        http://lmgtfy.com/?q=samsung+41.4
        JustDoIT
        Reply Vote

      • Sometimes it won't allow the post

        if the link has some other text in it. Just tied it with a copied link from another ZDNet article, it wouldn't save the post. Use a straight forward one like the one you supplied, it works.

        Maybe ZDNet doesn't want their own articles referenced?
        William Farrel
        Reply Vote

      • @toddbottom

        All it takes is a little knowledge and some critical thinking. There are 114 million households in the United States. 50% of them have a computer. That's 57 million PCs. The average homeowner replaces his PC once every three years. That's 19 million PC sales per year, assuming ALL sales are Windows (which they aren't, but we'll go with 100% Windows). There are 196 million people in the workforce (labor force participation rate of 63.8% of 311 million people). Assume 50% of them have computers assigned to them by work (it's probably higher than that, but we'll be conservative). Companies typically upgrade every year to 18 months. We'll call it 18 months. That's 65 million PCs bought for business purposes each year. In other words, Corporate PC buys outnumber personal PC buys by AT LEAST a factor of 3 to 1. My original point stands.
        baggins_z
        Reply Vote

      • baggins: Thanks for admitting your "stats" are fantasy

        Thank you for admitting you pulled your stats out of thin air. You are totally guessing. I thought so. Now all of ZDNet can see you for who you are.

        [i] 114 million households in the United States. 50% of them have a computer. That's 57 million PCs.[/i]

        Immediate fail considering how many multi-PC households there are. 100% of the people I know have multiple PCs in their homes.

        I won't even bring up the fail that is [i]in the United States[/i].

        Please stop spreading this "statistic". You have proven that you made it up and your "logic" is a total fail.
        toddbottom3
        Reply Vote

      • He is correct

        Microsoft admits most of its sales and profits are derived from business sales. Most of what it sells are Windows and Office with big profit margins. The consumer market could be turned over to Apple and it would still have a big chunk of business.
        mstrsfty
        Reply Vote

      • @ toddbottom3 "All home computers run Windows"

        There are four "personal computers" in my home (not counting smartphones and tablets). Three of them are Apple computers, running OS X Lion. The fourth is running FreeBSD and is server for various things (most notably takes care that we do not lose data).

        No Windows at home.

        BTW: No Windows at my enterprises either -- the "PC" numbers there are in the range of thousands.

        Anyway, I have no doubt that my "PCs" are counted by Microsoft to run Windows as well.
        danbi
        Reply Vote

  • And I'll be there to post your idiocy to my blog

    When it fails just like I did for Vista.
    Pete&Pete
    Reply Vote

    • Vista on new hardware

      was just fine. I've seen massive issues with people's systems that upgraded, but Vista on brand new medium to high end hardware was a very good OS.
      Regulator1956
      Reply Vote
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