Microsoft in high spirits about Vista adoption

Microsoft is "feeling quite good" about the adoption of its Windows Vista operating system a year after it was released.

Despite recent suggestions Microsoft is struggling to convince businesses about Vista, the tech giant claims it has been the most rapidly adopted OS in history.

Mike Haigh, UK Windows product marketing manager said: "We're feeling quite good about it. From a deployment perspective we're exactly where we expected to be."

According to Haigh, 88 million Vista licences (consumer and business versions combined) have been sold globally, with 100 million expected to be reached by the end of 2007.

And on uptake in the UK, he said: "We're following a pattern that I think the rest of the world is taking."

Haigh said Vista has also played a major role in a 27 percent increase in volume licensing agreements globally.

According to analysts, one of the major issues stopping businesses moving onto Vista is its lack of compatibility with applications and devices, but Haigh said this is quickly becoming less of a problem.

He said around 2.2 million devices are now supported by Vista — with 700,000 added since its launch — and around 41,000 are supported by Windows updates.

He said: "We've made some major steps forwards."

And looking into the near future, Haigh suggested the healthy consumer uptake of Vista will further drive businesses to migrate, as workers demand the operating system in the workplace as well.