Spiceworks recently completed a study to get a better grasp on adoption plans of Windows 8 among US

SMB IT pros. For this study, we surveyed approximately 1,000 IT pros on two separate occasions. The fi rst

survey was conducted in August 2012, prior to the Windows 8 launch in October, and the second survey

was conducted in December 2012.

The main goals:

• Understand how IT pros’ perceptions/plans for Windows 8 adoption changed once the product

hit the marketplace

• Determine how much impact employees will have on Windows 8 adoption

• Find out if IT pros plan to upgrade from XP to Windows 7 or Windows 8

The fi rst survey also investigated their current environment for computers, smartphones and tablets

to understand if there are any underlying factors that might aff ect adoption.

SMB IT pros are all about simplicity, and the fi ndings suggest that they continue to struggle with

the increasing number of devices end users want either from their companies or through BYOD. Given

this struggle, employee habits may be a key indicator into how and when Windows 8 will be adopted

among SMBs.

The future of Windows 8?

Only time will tell.

A Spiceworks Market Insights Report

February 2013Voice of IT TM

2

THE FUTURE OF WINDOWS 8

Mission-critical app(s) not compatible with all OS

End-users wanted to use other OS

Legacy from merger acquisition

We have specific brands we prefer to use

Our departments/divisions/regions are allowed to use

what they want

Other, please specify

Respondents

34%

33%

23%

14%

12%

36%

18%

71%

6%

25%

27%

10%

6%

79%

8%

21%

32%

8%

Reasons for Supporting Multiple Operating Systems

Why does your company support more than one OS for [DEVICE]? (Select all that apply.)

870 364 636

Computers Tablets Smartphones

= Top two responses

Windows 8 adoption in a complex world.

SMB IT pros typically have small teams and a ton to manage. They could have anywhere from 20 to 1,000

end users at multiple locations and multiple devices per user. Windows 8 is being marketed as having

versatile new features as well as a common ecosystem for computers, tablets and smartphones – which is

defi nitely a compelling off er that could make an IT pro’s life a bit easier.

Currently, IT pros have their fair share of operating systems (OSs)

to manage. Here’s the breakdown:

• 86% support more than one computer OS

• 82% support more than one smartphone OS

• 60% support more than one tablet OS

Two of the main reasons why? Companies are dealing with legacy apps

and end users who want devices that require another OS.

62%

78%

75%

66%

of SMBs support

multiple locations

manage remote

employees

support more than one

device for the end user

support BYOD

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THE FUTURE OF WINDOWS 8

So, given the consumerization of IT and BYOD it seems that the reality of managing multiple OSs is

here to stay, and companies are used to having to evolve their OSs over time. This trend will most

likely continue since nearly two-thirds of respondents state that they’re either neutral or don’t think

it’s necessary to have an integrated OS platform like the one advertised for Windows 8.

4

THE FUTURE OF WINDOWS 8

Windows in SMBs: From XP to 7 or 8.

Windows has a stronghold in SMBs with 96% of respondents surveyed currently supporting Windows 7

and 83% supporting Windows XP. Knowing that XP will no longer be supported starting April 2014, SMBs

will need to determine whether they’ll upgrade to Windows 7 or make the leap to Windows 8.

Respondents: 1114

5

THE FUTURE OF WINDOWS 8

Once you take XP out of the equation, is it going to be the tried-and-true (Win7) or the new-and-improved

(Win8)? To fi nd out how SMB IT pros size up the two OSs, we asked respondents to select the top three

improvements they felt Windows 8 off ered over Windows 7.

While over a third believe there are no major improvements over Windows 7, the more than 60% who

saw improvements cited enhanced touchscreen capabilities, increased speed, and better integration

with smartphones and tablets at the top of the list.

“ “

FROM THE COMMUNITY

Windows 8 is an excellent

successor to Windows 7 in

every way. There is a bit of

transition using it on a non

touch desktop, but after you

get past the learning stage,

it is absolutely incredible.

Sosipater

Network/Systems Administrator

community.spiceworks.com

“

“FROM THE COMMUNITY

We are currently a Windows

7 shop. We are able to do

every task our business

requires both now and

in the forseeable future.

Though we have proactively

prepared an upgrade

plan (that includes several

directions), we will not

expend the resources

unless an unmet business

need requires it.

Bobby D.

IT Manager

community.spiceworks.com

6

THE FUTURE OF WINDOWS 8

Windows 8 on computers: Adoption slowing, testing on the rise.

What’s the status on Windows 8 adoption and testing? The OS has been in the market since October, and

data shows that adoption plans on desktops and laptops have decreased slightly while testing has increased

signifi cantly. Prior to the launch of Windows 8, a quarter of respondents stated they had plans to implement the

new OS at their company within two years of the release. The number, however, dropped to 20% after release.

WINDOWS 8 PRODUCT

REVIEWS IN SPICEWORKS

http://community.spiceworks.

com/product/43724-microsoft-

windows-8

7

THE FUTURE OF WINDOWS 8

Could the adoption tide be turning?

Even though adoption timing may have pushed out for some, there are signifi cantly more SMBs

currently testing Windows 8, which jumped from 48% testing prior to launch all the way up to 69%

testing post launch.

“ “

FROM THE COMMUNITY

Overall, I’ll continue to test

and play with the OS, but it’s

hard to envision deploying

this OS to desktops in our

network at this point.

Ryan8481

Help Desk Tech

community.spiceworks.com

8

THE FUTURE OF WINDOWS 8

Reasons for adopting or not adopting Windows 8.

Respondents planning to adopt Windows 8 within 90 days of release were asked the top reasons for

adopting. Increased speed and security were at the top of the list followed by improved manageability,

enhanced touchscreen capabilities, and better integration with smartphones and tablets.

“ “

FROM THE COMMUNITY

The new UI takes some

getting used to but the OS

seems pretty quick and

for someone who’s new to

Hyper V, it off ers a great way

to get up to speed.

Paul2860

14 years’ IT experience

community.spiceworks.com

9

THE FUTURE OF WINDOWS 8

The top reason companies are not planning to adopt until 90 days after release (or have no plans to adopt

at all) is because they feel there’s no real advantage over their current OS. And given the large penetration

of XP and the success of Windows 7, Microsoft will need to prove advantages of Windows 8 in a business

environment if they want to see a large conversion to this OS vs. Windows 7 by 2014.

“ “

FROM THE COMMUNITY

Will likely not allow this on

my corporate network for

quite some time, because

I just don’t want to put

everyone through the

learning curve and support

issues to make it useful.

B2BYTE

IT Manager

community.spiceworks.com

1 0

THE FUTURE OF WINDOWS 8

Windows 8 on mobile: Smartphones & tablets

What’s the verdict on adopting Windows 8 for mobile? Turns out, the majority of IT pros have no plans to

adopt the OS on their company’s smartphones and tablets. However, 79% of IT pros managing smartphones

and 71% of IT pros managing tablets state that the top reason for managing multiple mobile OSs is due to

employee requests.

So it’s likely that Windows 8 could gain higher adoption if it’s successful in the consumer market and

employees request it more often.

1 1

THE FUTURE OF WINDOWS 8

For those planning to adopt, the top reasons for moving employees to Windows 8 are better integration with

other devices, better user interface, and enhanced touchscreen capabilities.

1 2

THE FUTURE OF WINDOWS 8

The jury’s still out on Windows 8 adoption...

As the title of this report suggests – only time will tell when it comes to the success of Windows 8. While

many IT pros believe that the new user interface is an advantage of Windows 8, they also recognize that

their end-users will need to be trained.

In addition, critical applications will need to be supported and hardware must meet certain specs to ensure

proper functionality. Given this, the transition to Windows 8 will take some time. Based on our research, we

believe there are two factors that will impact the success of Windows 8 in SMBs:

1. Employees requesting and/or bringing Windows 8 devices into the offi ce

2. IT pros considering Windows 8 the better upgrade path than Windows 7 for their XP devices

With multiple factors in play, we’ll be keeping a close eye to see if and when Windows 8 adoption hits its stride.

1 3

THE FUTURE OF WINDOWS 8

The contents in this report are a result of primary research performed by Spiceworks. Unless otherwise noted, the entire contents distributed as part of this report are copyrighted by Spiceworks. As such any information made available by any means in this report may not be copied, reproduced, duplicated, published, displayed, transmitted, distributed, given, sold, traded, resold, marketed, off ered for sale, modifi ed to create derivative works or otherwise exploited for valuable consideration without prior written consent by Spiceworks. For more information visit www.spiceworks.com/voice-of-it/terms.

This report contains information of fact relating to parties other than Spiceworks. Although the information have been obtained from, and are based on sources that Spiceworks believes to be reliable, Spiceworks does not guarantee the accuracy, and any such information might be incomplete or condensed. Any estimates included in this report constitute Spiceworks’ judgment as of the date of compilation, and are subject to change without notice. This report is for information purposes only. All responsibility for any interpretations or actions based on the information or commentary contained within this report lie solely with the recipient.

All rights reserved. 2012-2013.

About Spiceworks Voice of IT®

The Spiceworks Voice of IT® Market Insights program publishes stats, trends and opinions collected from small

and medium business technology professionals that are among the more than 2.4M users of Spiceworks. Survey

panelists opt-in to answer questions on technology trends important to them. To fi nd out more about our

research capabilities, email marketresearch@spiceworks.com.

About Spiceworks™

Spiceworks™, is the world’s largest vertical network for IT that connects 2.4 million IT professionals with more than

1300 technology brands. By combining a community of IT pros with free IT management software, Spiceworks

helps businesses discover, buy and manage more than $425 billion technology products and services each year.

To learn more, visit: Be fi rst to hear about Spiceworks Voice of IT® insights, email:

http://www.spiceworks.com/voice-of-it marketresearch@spiceworks.com

Respondent Profi le

For each study, we spoke to companies with less than 1000 employees. The breakout by company size was

consistent across each study with approximately 60% of respondents coming from companies with less

than 100 employees.