73 per cent of organisations to install Windows 10 within the next two years

And 83 per cent will be doing it on desktop, too

Seventy-three per cent of North American and European companies plan to pick up Windows 10 within the first two years of its release, according to a report carried out by IT professional networking company Spiceworks.

The report states that, out of "over 500" IT professionals questioned in those regions 35 per cent intend to start using Windows 10 within a year, 33 per cent within one to two years, and five per cent are planning to pick Windows 10 up on the day of release.

It's unclear whether Microsoft's ‘free upgrade' service, which has a limited presence in enterprise licence contracts, may be behind this unusual corporate confidence in Microsoft's new operating system. However, it seems particularly good news for the company after initial reactions to its announcement suggested that Microsoft may have announced it too early, as some companies had only just adopted - or were yet to adopt - Windows 8 or Windows 8.1.

Also interesting is the data the researchers collected on how companies intend to use Windows 10, and where they primarily intend to install it.

While laptops account for 85 per cent of "Windows 10 interest by device", a more surprising revelation is that 83 per cent of businesses plan to place it on desktop machines.

Considering analyst groups such as Gartner constantly describe a desktop PC market that's struggling, the implication that desktops are as popular as laptops may help to justify some of the design decisions Microsoft has made in Windows 10. These include a more mouse-based and traditional user interface that will be familiar to legacy Windows users.

Meanwhile, 50 per cent of users intend to use Windows 10 on tablets, further justifying choices such as the "tablet mode" user interface switch when a hybrid device's keyboard is de-activated.

A 31 per cent projected interest in mobile phones for Windows 10 is also an encouraging figure for Redmond, as organisations haven't embraced Windows Phone 8 and often bowed to employee pressure to support BYOD schemes and integrate Android or iOS devices instead.

Microsoft would argue that adopting a complete ecosystem could spell infrastructural advantages for an organisation - such as Cambridgeshire Police's example earlier this week - and many enterprise users seem to have fallen for these promises.

Still, 31 per cent is also a figure that shows Microsoft remains a long way behind in the mobile market.

Finally, 64 per cent of Windows 10 users claim to be "most enticed" by the return of the Start button, followed by 55 per cent swayed by the free upgrade from Windows 7 and 8 - if only at home. If Microsoft can so easily win over its audience with one simple UI fix, Windows 10 could easily be the hit the company is looking for.

Windows 10 is released on 29 July 2015. Check back to Computing early next week for our sneak peak at the retail build.