What Windows 8 means for the IT Department and the user

In September Microsoft released a developer version of its new Windows 8 operating system. The exciting aspect this time is that it’s not an update of an old system, but a totally new operating system. An operating system that according to Microsoft itself marks the beginning of a new Microsoft. The question is, of course, whether this isn’t just another marketing trick and don’t the big boys always try to present new operating systems as something totally new that will change and improve the overall experience on a computer or digital device? Well of course, but this time all the indications are that what we’re seeing with Windows 8 from Microsoft is a major change and a generation shift.

With Windows 8, the interface is mobile

There’s no doubt that the borderline between mobile and desktop is now seriously on the way to being washed away. The big boys have the same objective, which is to be number one, and to be number one they need to dominate both our smartphones and our operating systems at home and at work. If the battle for our operating systems at work used to be fought between Microsoft and Apple, Google has now become seriously involved in the contest with the launch of Android, which has become dominant in the field of smartphones. Apple has made real progress with the launch of iOS, which is at the heart of all iPhones and iPads.

So now Microsoft needs to do something about this somehow, and they’re doing it with Windows 8 and Windows Mobile, which will be launched in autumn 2011. These two operating systems have very significant similarities, partly because they have been developed from the same core, and partly so that we users can easily find our way around. Especially when we choose smartphones, we often go for the operating system and we hate having to learn something new from the beginning.

There’s no doubt that Windows 8 is structured so that it can work on both mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet PCs, and on traditional laptops and desktop PCs. At Microsoft they say themselves that users of Windows 8 can “switch seamlessly between the two interfaces on the Metro and Windows desktop”. Our guess is that Microsoft expects us to use the improved Windows desktop in Windows 8 and then switch to the Metro interface when we take our device from the desktop workplace. In explaining their two interfaces, at Microsoft they also say that they didn’t want to compromise either interface or functionality. But critics believe that the improved Windows desktop is a little bit confusing and some way away from the surprising simplicity of the Metro interface. Another common view among those who have tested Windows 8 is that the Metro interface works unexpectedly well at a desktop workstation with a keyboard and mouse rather than a touchscreen. So one challenge facing IT departments may be whether to lock desktop PCs into the traditional interface or to allow users to run Metro. The next one will be, of course, whether or not users opt for Metro if they have the choice. As usual, there will be a lot of uncertainty to begin with, but eventually the smartest, most user-friendly interface will come to dominate. Maybe the development of Windows Mobile is helping to influence what we users feel comfortable with here in terms of interfaces. If Windows Mobile becomes the amazing mobile operating system that Microsoft is hoping for and even some professional reviewers believe, the Metro interface will also win market shares from the traditional one.

One very real difference is that Microsoft has really cleaned up the whole view in Metro, something that Apple was always good at. Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity. We’re  now seeing this in Windows for the first time ever. A simpler, purer interface is also a precondition for the operating system working on a smaller screen such as a smartphone. Personally, I love simple, clear interfaces, but with access to more advanced functions further down in the structure.

What will Windows 8 mean for us as users?

The fact that Microsoft has managed to achieve a user-friendly interface that we partly recognise from the iPad, for example, is good and definitely necessary for Microsoft. But the challenge remaining is that all of the “new” operating systems that they have launched since Windows 95 have more or less been upgrades of the previous ones in terms of the user interface and the concept behind navigation with menus, searches and so on. Microsoft is now doing something totally different, and regardless of how much better it is, we will need to re-learn and re-think. Tabs and touchscreens are now a serious reality, and how we as users succeed in switching between the traditional ways of working with a keyboard and mouse and these touchscreens remains to be seen. I’d make so bold as to claim that Windows 8 will allow us for the first time to seriously test the same operating system using both the old and the new touchscreen method.

What does Windows 8 mean for the IT Department?

When Microsoft launches its first proper version of Windows Mobile we’ll certainly see new, smart links between Windows 8 and Windows Mobile that can contribute to our being happy to have Windows Mobile on our phones as well. After all, Microsoft has already made it clear that they’re putting a special focus on the business segment with Windows Mobile and seamless integrations with Outlook, Lync and SharePoint can surely be expected.

IT departments will presumably choose the more traditional user interface in Windows 8 in order to have a chance to keep the business running without needing to send the whole workforce on a week’s basic training in Windows 8. Nevertheless, Windows 8 is, as I said, a real change for users and it wouldn’t surprise me to see the same wave of seminars, training courses and support initiatives that we saw with the rollout of Windows 95 all those years ago.

Many companies are well behind in the transition to older operating systems and are much in need of a rollout to a more modern operating system, which means that Microsoft may achieve unexpectedly high conversion rates to Windows 8.

When will Windows 8 be here?

Windows 8 is planned for launch in mid-2012, specifically in June 2012.

If you want to install a developer version of Windows 8 (Windows Developer Preview downloads), you can do so here.

Looking forward to your thoughts on Windows 8. Thank you!