Microsoft Windows has been a pioneer in terms of incorporating the latest technological advancement in operating systems. Today about 1.5 billion people use Windows across multiple devices. On October 1st, 2014, Microsoft unveiled insights about its next release, “Windows 10” as the predecessor to Windows 8. A technical preview is available to try the new operating system. The preview exhibits “wow” features that really make the release interesting and exciting, but a few questions remain. Are these features tailored only for home based users? What are these changes in regards to enterprises and businesses? Will this edition make a shift for the IT?
Terry Myerson, Executive Vice President of Operating Systems at Microsoft, pointed out in his keynote that one of the most important demographics for Windows is the enterprise customer. He continues to say that in the first half of 2014, shipments of enterprise PCs grew 14%. In that same time period, shipments of Windows enterprise tablets grew 33%. He also claims that Windows 10 embodies what customers (both consumers and enterprises) demand and it will deliver. Let’s check out a few key features of Windows 10 for enterprise customers.
Familiar User Experience in Windows
Windows 10 has a familiar user experience that has been widely adopted. Even though Microsoft officially cut off support for XP in April, a recent survey conducted at TechEd North America 2014 conference revealed that 53 percent of attendees were still running XP within their organizations. One of the prime reasons for this is because they are so familiar with XP. There are people out there who look for changes, but there are also people who stick around with the things they are familiar. Microsoft has worked to bridge this gap with Windows 10. Say for example there are people have adopted Windows XP’s start menu while some who use Windows 8 prefer live tiles. Windows 10 has both. It also uses the same tools and apps we use in Windows 7 or other versions making it more familiar.
Built-In Mobile Device Management
With internet of things getting popular, communication among devices becomes vital for the future. Windows 10 has built-in mobile device management which allows the user to communicate to any Windows device, not only desktop and laptops, but also IoT devices with a single interface through cloud.
Integrating UI Through Continuum
Windows 8 was designed as a single platform to fit with tablets, mobile devices and computers. Windows 8 had separate core UI for these devices. Windows 10 has integrated these separate UIs with a new feature called “Continuum.” This feature identifies and changes the core UI of the device based on the need. Let me explain this in brief. Currently when a laptop screen is detached it becomes a handy tablet. In this case, Continuum identifies this change and modifies the entire laptop UI to the tablet UI with a notification that pops up when the screen is detached. The objective of this feature is to help people who are shifting from traditional keyboard and pointer device to touch screen interface.
Security
Windows 10 has improved resistance to breaches, theft or phishing by carrying out various security aspects. It has built in features integrated to handle smart cards or token-based systems without the need for external peripherals. Data is secured wherever it travels in Windows 10. Even when data moves across from one device to another, the same level of security is provided without any additional effort in terms of installing additional apps or software.
Microsoft announced these few notable features and that there are many more to come with the complete version next year. With these features available and with the full version expected to be rolled out next year, I am confident that Windows 10 is making a positive shift toward IT.
