Can Windows hold on to its supremacy?

What is the future of Windows?

There is a certain irony in Microsoft putting the man that runs its Windows business up for interview with Computing in the same week that the government announced a new commitment to open source.

Bill Veghte faces the daunting task of convincing IT leaders that Windows 7 is the real thing – a stable, ready-to-go system that is ideal for businesses stuttering through a recession to invest in. It would be hard enough were it not for the bad feeling that persists around the disappointment of Vista.

But the challenge for Veghte and his employer is now broader than ever. In the past, new versions of Windows have competed primarily with their predecessors. Thanks to the hiccup of Vista, in the years since the last seriously business-ready operating system, Windows XP, the world has moved on significantly.

No longer is there such a long-term desire for the energy-hungry, feature-rich, high-powered desktop PCs that have fuelled the success of previous Windows incarnations.

Just about the only area of the PC market that is growing at the moment is netbooks ­ – cut-down, low-cost laptops used primarily for internet access that run quite happily under Linux. Even Nokia is talking about moving into the netbook market as it converges with high-end smartphones.

Microsoft will face a new set of decision criteria from IT leaders – ­ not just when or if to upgrade, but what type of device is most appropriate, and which of a wider range of operating systems and applications to choose.

Meanwhile, the old cash cow of the public sector is increasingly opening up to new application ideas ­ – and in particular, open-source software. A new strategy announced last week aims to encourage equal status for open-source and commercial applications.

Admittedly, it is hardly the first time government has tried to make such a move, but Whitehall and council IT managers will now be asking themselves the same question as their corporate peers ­ – for how much longer will we really need Windows?