Users lap up Windows 2000 despite warnings

Microsoft claims to have sold more than one million copies of Windows 2000 since its 17 February launch, despite analysts warning enterprises to delay rollout.

The one million figure has been calculated from reseller, retailer and PC manufacturer estimates. Microsoft said it doesn't include customers that have acquired licences through enterprise agreements.

IDC analyst Andy Brown said that although large companies would move to upgrade reasonably quickly, small and medium businesses will be less eager.

"For them it is a significant investment and it will be more a case of wait and see," he added.

In the run up to the launch of Windows 2000, industry analysts including Meta Group, GartnerGroup and Giga Information, advised companies to delay upgrading to the new operating system for several months.

Meta recently said Windows 2000 migration is the most difficult upgrade since moving from Dos to Windows 3.1 and is in some respects even tougher.

"Many organisations will find this deeply traumatic," said Meta senior analyst, Ashim Pal.

Meta advised users to avoid migrating this year. "You are likely to have a lot of pent-up demand after Year 2000 work, which could well take six to nine months to get under control," said Pal.

Another reason to hold back, according to Meta, is the fact that applications written specifically for Windows 2000 are only due to be released in the second quarter of this year at the earliest.

"When you boil it down, it is applications that will drive users to make this upgrade," said Pal.

Researcher IDC reports that the launch of Windows 2000 has boosted PC sales in Europe. IDC's Brown said: "There was a massive lull over the last four months from Year 2000, so it was inevitable it would kick off."

"It's clear that Microsoft is remaining the industry standard, so it was inevitable that most major players will move to upgrade. A lot of vendors have said that they will incorporate Windows 2000 in their servers as standard."

Microsoft also said that its customer support centre is receiving the lowest volume of calls per unit licensed of any previous Microsoft operating system. This suggests that the Windows 2000 upgrade is proving less of a headache for IT managers than previous Windows upgrades.

See also:

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Microsoft has rolled out the preview release of Windows Media Player 7 which it claims will give consumers a full multimedia experience without having to deal with complex interfaces.  31 Mar 2000

Microsoft asks users for Datacentre advice

Microsoft is seeking advice from its UK customers on how to make its forthcoming Windows 2000 Datacentre Server platform a credible alternative to Unix in mission critical environments.  31 Mar 2000

Future imperfect

Forecasting IT trends is a difficult business. How much faith should be placed in analysts' predictions?  22 Mar 2000

Microsoft goes for broke?

Microsoft has been busier than usual with product launches, joint ventures and sponsorships. Is the Redmond giant trying to strengthen its divisions before they have to stand on their own?  20 Mar 2000

Special Focus: Windows 2000

vnunet.com teamed up with Computing, Network News and Computer Reseller News to give you all the articles in the run-up to the launch of Windows 2000, along with the developments and feedback after the operating system hit the street.  22 Feb 2000

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