PCMAN – Although there are several encouraging quarterly results by now, Microsoft is still going through a tough turnaround process in a touch market. Reportedly, windows OEM revenue, or the cash it generates by selling the Windows operating system wholesale to PC manufacturers, was down 5% in constant currency from the previous quarter.
The PC market has been slowing over the time, and the 5% dip is better than the overall drop. Microsoft stated that that’s the cold comfort—especially since the market is projected to go flat next year.
Microsoft has also made a major goal of getting Windows 10 on to 1 billion devices by 2018, however, the slow PC sales growth is also slowing down the progress of the major goal.
Looking at the situation, Microsoft CEO SatyaNadella have gave hints on how exactly Microsoft is going to respond towards the situation during an earnings conference call last January. He stated that Microsoft are clear that long-term Windows growth and vibrancy rests on their ability to reinvent personal computers and personal computing.
Surface Tension
Satya Nadella focused on several particular products, which breathed new life into the laptop/tablet 2-in-1 market, such as the Microsoft Surface. In just the last quarter, the Surface business booked $1.35 billion in sales, mostly because of the new Surface Pro 4 tablet and Surface Book laptop.
There are several companies like Dell, Lenovo, HP, and Samsung who are producing their own takes on the Microsoft Surface concept. They have tried to push them to their own customers, just as Microsoft are pushing Windows 10 into more hands.
Experts think that these devices making a dent in the market, and analyst firm IDC even estimated that if they factor in those 2-in-1 devices, PC sales were actually flat, and not down.
Nadella stated that he has focused on offsetting the shrinking market by continuing Windows 10 itself more enterprise friendly with new security and other compliance features. He hoped that it will encourage more of the crucial business market to take the plunge and upgrade. He also wanted to help developers to make more money with Windows 10, which will attract more apps to the Windows Store.
Nadella also stated that he wants to keep working with Microsoft’s PC manufacturer partners to come up with new kinds of computers. Bottom line, Microsoft has accepted the challenge, and ready to approach a whole new market category.
