The software titan may be keen to discontinue Windows XP on April 8, 2014 and has recently amped up its efforts to encourage businesses and consumers to upgrade to a newer platform, which it hopes is Windows 8.
But despite the best laid plans, users are just not willing to abandon Windows XP in favor of a new operating system. The latest statistics show a fair amount of challenge remains for Redmond.
The numbers from market research firm Net Applications show that Windows XP currently holds a market share of 38.73 percent, making it the second most popular operating system in the world, behind Windows 7.
In fact, the vintage operating system has just lost a small number of users this year — its market share dropped from 39.51 percent in January 2013 to 38.73 percent — while both Windows 7 and Windows 8 posted improved figures.
This small drop is a concern for Microsoft, as the company noted, in a recent statement:
“We recommend that customers running computers with Windows XP take action and update or upgrade their PCs before the end-of-support date. If Windows XP is still being run in your environment and you feel that migration will not be complete by April 8, 2014, or you haven’t begun migration yet, Microsoft is eager to help.”
Problem is that not many seem to be listening.
That or businesses are forced to stick to Windows XP due to compatibility reasons as their legacy applications and software may not play nicely with newer versions of Microsoft’s operating system.
