It’s Bizarro World at Microsoft as Use of XP Grows and Windows 8 Declines!

Windows XP is a product that has consistently performed well for Microsoft and it continues to see growth, even though it's not supposed to. With its support ending this past April, Windows XP was supposed to never be heard from again. Instead, XP is refusing to go quietly into the night by posting positive usage numbers for June 2014.

As reported by Net Application, the usage growth of Windows XP was minuscule, increasing from 25.27 to 25.31 percent, but it's the fact that it actually grew that causes this news story to be a hot mess that's captured our attention.

For active XP users that haven't yet heard why it's bad to use XP after its support has ended because they've been under a rock for the past year, unsupported software like XP is highly vulnerable to security threats. Sure, Windows XP seems to still be working just fine, albeit perhaps a little more buggy than twelve years ago, but without the safeguards and updates from Microsoft, Windows XP is like a ticking time bomb that can seriously compromise your data. We strongly recommend every XP user to upgrade ASAP. In fact, upgrading yesterday is preferable.

The fact that Windows XP usage grew is a mystery that has the IT world scratching their heads and the folks at Microsoft pointing fingers. We could speculate all day as to why this is. One important fact to consider is that this report takes into account worldwide OS usage. Windows XP is still a popular operating system in developing nations where having consistent electricity is more of a concern than running the latest OS. Then there's the mentality of "if it's not broken, don't fix it" that may be keeping many XP users clinging to their beloved decade-old system.

Enough about XP, the important question for Microsoft is how did Windows 8 (its latest OS) fare in the last month's usage report? According to Net Application, not so well. In June 2014, use of Windows 8 and 8.1 dropped from 12.64 to 12.54 percent. This news doesn't bode well for the software giant, seeing that they've gone all in with Windows 8 by throwing a ridiculous amount of marketing money at it.

Then there's good old Windows 7, Microsoft's ace in the hole. Last June, usage of Windows 7 increased from 50.06 to 50.55 percent. This was Microsoft's strongest showing on the OS usage report, but it's a fair guess that Microsoft would have much preferred those numbers to be for Windows 8.

XP, 8, 8.1, 7, Vista, the rumored 9, the Windows operating saga continues and SolutionOne is kicking back with a bag of popcorn and taking it all in! We can help your business upgrade from Windows XP to a more secure OS, and we can arm your company with the latest solutions like Windows 8.1 to keep your business secure and competitive. Give us a call today at (214) 299-8555 to learn more.