Opinion-Why the desktop PC market is not at death's door

[steven36]

Kieran O'Connor, sales director at Total Computer Networks, explains why the signs don't point to the death of PC - rather its evolution

 

 

Those who have been in IT as long as I have will have heard the death of the PC predicted many times before. But now there is a set of trends that seem to be making it a sledgehammer to crack a nut. Is this the end of the PC as we know it?

 

Since it was introduced in 1981, the PC has revolutionised our workplaces and become a standard on every desk. But today, those desktops and laptops are increasingly just the front end to SaaS, cloud or web-delivered applications - whether that's Office 365 or ERP, CRM, finance or HR systems.

 

However, Microsoft is taking things much further than that.

 

It is already moving management to the cloud. The shift to Windows 10 brings with it Windows-as-a-service, which automatically updates the operating system. And its 'modern management' approach, which automates and simplifies device and user management, draws heavily on its cloud-based Windows Autopilot and Azure Active Directory services.

 

Next up, with availability expected soon, is Windows Virtual Desktop - its service for virtualising Windows 7, 10, and Office 365 ProPlus, as well as software from other providers, by running them from Azure virtual machines. Which, as you can imagine, Citrix is looking to piggy-back with complementary offerings.

 

All of which suggests a move away from PCs and laptops towards simpler devices that enable us to interact with the real intelligence, somewhere in the cloud. The end of the PC as we know it.

In the consumer market, we've already seen a decline in PC sales, with tablets and smartphones favoured for internet and email access.

 

But the consumer world is mostly about content consumption, while the workplace typically includes a much more involved and multi-faceted relationship with our devices. This is evidenced by the latest figures from IT analyst Gartner, which show growth in the business PC market - although this is driven largely by Windows 10 deployments.

 

I can see that for some task-based staff, who only have a narrowly defined set of interactions with their computer, that a shift away from Windows PCs can make a lot of sense. Simpler devices with fewer applications can be easier and cheaper to support, with fewer security vulnerabilities.

 

But I can also see that many knowledge workers still need the power and flexibility of a Windows PC. And let's not forget that for a large part of the workforce, the PC is all they've known. This says to me that any transition away from PCs will be limited to a subset of staff, certainly for the next few years.

 

I also think it's still in Microsoft's strategic and commercial interests for the PC to persist. Firstly, I don't see Microsoft wanting to surrender the place that Windows holds on the device to Chrome or Linux operating systems, and that means retaining something of the essence of the PC.

 

Secondly, it has strong and long-standing relationships with the hardware vendors, which I'm sure would rather be selling laptops than something of the simplicity of a Chromebook.

 

I'm convinced that we will still be using the PC for work long into the future. The trend towards cloud delivery of software and the simplification and automation of device and user profile management will continue. But the PC, though doing less locally, will essentially remain.

 

Microsoft is clearly keen to move towards the delivery of the desktop ‘as-a-service' and we've already seen that hardware vendors, led by HP Inc, are keen to move towards the delivery of the device ‘as-a-service'.

 

Where these models are combined, perhaps with the addition of related services, to provide end-user computing, in its entirety, as-a-service - that's where things start to become really interesting.

 

Overall, innovations from software and hardware vendors are changing how organisations can manage their desktops, making life easier and cutting expenditure.

 

Is the end of the PC nigh? Absolutely not! Reports of the PC's death are once again premature, but its evolution is accelerating. Long may that continue.

 

By Kieran O'Connor sales director at Total Computer Networks

 

Source

[mp68terr]

20 minutes ago, steven36 said:

Overall, innovations from software and hardware vendors are changing how organisations can manage their desktops, making life easier and cutting expenditure.

Is moving to w10 (higher specs and new hardware, buggy updates) a way to cut expenditures?

[steven36]

1 hour ago, mp68terr said:

Is moving to w10 (higher specs and new hardware, buggy updates) a way to cut expenditures?

 As long as they got guinea pig consumers  beta testing for them yes .in Enterprise Software News  ED Bott is suggesting  use a older version  of Windows 10

 

Version 1809, despite its rocky start, is probably the best choice for admins who prefer a cautious approach. And it's comforting to know that the upcoming 1909 release will be light on updated features, making it far more likely that it will avoid many of these teething issues from the start.

 

Most businesses are still  on 1809  and 1803  mostly only consumers are using 1903

https://wccftech.com/windows-10-1903-massive-growth-tripled/

 

67% of Windows 10 users are on older version and  will never use 1903. There fixing to release 1909 witch is just like a SP for 1903 .

 

Businesses can pay extra for 3 years and stay on Windows 7   and get updates even . There  are laws in place were if you get  audited and are  using outdated OS in  business  you will be fined  so it's a matter of is it cheaper to pay Microsoft a fee  for Windows 7 updates  or go ahead and update to Windows 10. They going to have to update within the next 3 years anyway they have no choice in the matter. 

https://www.zdnet.com/article/how-much-will-staying-patched-on-windows-7-cost-you-heres-the-price-list/

 

Unless Microsoft offers  windows 7 home users  a reprieve they going be on a zombie OS  within 4 years you want even be able to find browser updates . 3rd party software vendors will  keep updating there apps for Windows 7 for as long as businesses are  paying for extended support .  We done watched it unfold with XP back  in 2014 onwards.  As long as you use Windows  its always the same fate in the end. You  will ether be stuck using out of date software or using newer Windows. 

 

[mp68terr]

2 hours ago, steven36 said:

There  are laws in place were if you get  audited and are  using outdated OS in  business  you will be fined...

Don't know this law and if there are similar ones outside the US. Indeed, organisations have to define what is better for them for the couple of coming years.

In some organisations there are regulations requiring users to have updated AV, updated OS, etc. It's not much to protect users, it's mostly for these organisations to protect their own ass in case something comes wrong.

 

[steven36]

1 hour ago, mp68terr said:

Don't know this law and if there are similar ones outside the US. Indeed, organisations have to define what is better for them for the couple of coming years.

In some organisations there are regulations requiring users to have updated AV, updated OS, etc. It's not much to protect users, it's mostly for these organisations to protect their own ass in case something comes wrong.

 

In the UK they kept paying Millions of dollars for updates for XP   ,Some parts of the world there are more android users than Windows users now .The USA is not one of those places Windows still have higher marketshare than smartphones  and IOS still the leading smartphone. Businesses that never upgrade and never  do updates are the ones you be reading about over in the security and privacy section  of the board infected by some ransomware packed with a windows worm  that costed them  millions of dollars worth of damage  and in the end it ends up costing them much more than updating would.

 

In the USA they have new laws now if you leak user data (get hacked )you could be fined billions of dollars  and in the EU  they will fine you billions of  dollars if you have a data breach . It's not  a good time to be a Business running outdated  software in most of the world  they can and have held them accountable for there actions. Also it don't matter were your located  at if you get audited by one of  your contractors  they  can not give you orders  or  can pull orders and not renew contracts because you use outdated software ,  They dont need much reason to not do business  with you and it's always been that way . Who wants to  do Business with a company were there tech still stuck in the stone age ?

 

The only Businesses that survived in the USA once they made free trade was ones that went high tech its the only way you can compete  against overseas .   Most ransomware in the USA happens to small goverment  that are public and are not subject  to the same laws and audits  as private Businesses are .That's the goverment for you they charge you taxes but can't even buy  modern tech . The  US military  with Nuclear missiles and things still using computers from the 60s and 70s.

 

At work people don't have a choice in the matter if your boss say use windows , mac or Linux  you have to use what they say,  but at home we dont have to use Windows. . Most people use smartphones or you can use Linux or Mac OS .

 

Most big tech startups have there own in house Linux OS they make  so they don't have to depend  on a middle man like Microsoft . Then you have  lots of   old Businesses that been around before the www that don't like change  and they held contracts with Microsoft since the 80s and 90s.  They are codependent  on Microsoft. 

 

Microsoft lost the OS war to a version .of Linux  so they started embracing  it like all the others  do .

 

Bill Gates says letting Google’s Android platform become dominant was his “biggest mistake” at the company.

“It’s amazing to me that having made one of the biggest mistakes of all time, that our other assets Windows and Office are still very strong. So we are a leading company, but if we had gotten that one right, we would be the leading company”. Ouch. 

 

[Sylence]

This article is nonsense and biased. look at what the author says here

"Is the end of the PC nigh? Absolutely not! Reports of the PC's death are once again premature, but its evolution is accelerating. Long may that continue."

 

he clearly has already an opinion and it's against Windows. of course he won't come and talk good about Windows.

[Bizarre™]

Desktop computers are not going to die anytime soon. Unless mobile devices can provide better if not same power, flexibility, and affordability.