Fewer than 10 per cent of enterprise users even considering Windows 8 migration

Fewer than 10 per cent of UK enterprise users are basing decisions to refresh their technology estates on a Windows 8 migration, a Computing survey has revealed.

Respondents were asked for the main drivers behind their decisions to refresh or upgrade kit, and while 67 per cent said old and unreliable equipment was the biggest motivator, only 9.6 per cent stated that Windows 8, which has now been on sale since October 2012, was providing the impetus.

While 12.3 per cent admitted that Windows XP's 2014 "end of life" was a concern, this was not apparently matched by a pressing desire to upgrade to Windows 8.

One IT services firm told Computing "the jury is out" on the OS, while a major PC manufacturer commented that changing the user interface so significantly meant a migration to Windows 8 is often viewed as being too costly for many firms to consider.

With web analytics firm Net Applications reporting back in February that Windows 8 accounted for only 2.67 per cent of the desktop market - compared to over nine per cent in Windows 7's first four months - the operating system may well be struggling in an overcrowded OS market that is proving slightly more complex than the Microsoft-dominated world of the platform's predecessors.

And with rumours circulating that Windows 8's follow-up, "Windows Blue", is to rear its head in the next few months, many are now predicting a "fire sale" for Windows 8 and its hardware dependents.