International Data Corp., a leading market research firm, said that Microsoft Corp.'s next-generation Windows 8 operating system will be irrelevant for typical PC users as it will barely offer any new and important features. As a result, Windows 8 will not catalyze people to upgrade their existing PCs or spur additional interest in getting new systems.

"Windows 8 will be largely irrelevant to the users of traditional PCs, and we expect effectively no upgrade activity from Windows 7 to Windows 8 in that form factor," an analyst with IDC wrote, reports ZDNet.

Although Windows 8 introduces a number of advantages, like quick boot and other technologies aimed to improve responsiveness of mobile and desktop computers running Windows 8, those capabilities will be barely seen by the majority of end users. What will users see will be tiled Metro interface that may be good for tablets or smartphones, but which is completely irrelevant for personal computers in desktop or notebook form-factors. Since the user interface is barely impressive, there will few upgrades from existing systems.

Another reason for lackluster welcome of Windows 8 is the fact that a lot of large corporations have migrated to Windows 7 already and will likely skip the next operating system from Microsoft.

But while it may not be a problem for Microsoft that sales of Windows 8 in the PC space will be lower than those of Windows 7 and most probably the company is prepared for this, given the economic outlook, the main target for the company, tablets, may disappoint it, according to IDC.

"(T)here will be intense scrutiny on Microsoft’s ability to deliver a successful tablet experience aboard both x86-based tablets and on devices running ARM processors. This is a tall order for Microsoft, and while the x86 tablet strategy makes sense as a transitional solution for today’s PC users, it will be the ARM-based devices that need to shine and clear a high bar already set by Apple," the analysts say.

Tags: Microsoft, Windows, IDC