Microsoft Corp's Windows Vista is starting to see mass adoption from businesses nearly a year after it was released, the company said while predicting a strong first holiday season for the product.
"We feel like we are starting to hit our stride not only in demand, but in deployment in business," Kevin Johnson, president of Microsoft's platform and services group, said in an interview.
Microsoft delivered quarterly results last week that eclipsed Wall Street's most bullish forecasts, helped in part by strong demand for Vista, the latest upgrade to its flagship Windows operating system. Vista was introduced in January.
Vista's success was not always a foregone conclusion. Early Vista buyers complained about the lack of compatibility with existing devices and software programmes. Microsoft also buckled to PC manufacturer demands that the company delay the scheduled transition to Vista and extend sales of its previous Windows operating system, Windows XP, for another five months because some customers preferred XP.
In a note to clients, Bernstein Research analyst Charles Di Bona said he thinks Vista's upgrade cycle is "under-appreciated" and expects growth at the Windows business to be stronger than market expectations.
Windows runs on more than 90 per cent of the world's computers and Microsoft makes about 75 cents in profit for every dollar in Windows sales. The Windows client business generated $15 billion in revenue is fiscal 2007.
"We feel like we are starting to hit our stride not only in demand, but in deployment in business," Kevin Johnson, president of Microsoft's platform and services group, said in an interview.
Microsoft delivered quarterly results last week that eclipsed Wall Street's most bullish forecasts, helped in part by strong demand for Vista, the latest upgrade to its flagship Windows operating system. Vista was introduced in January.
Vista's success was not always a foregone conclusion. Early Vista buyers complained about the lack of compatibility with existing devices and software programmes. Microsoft also buckled to PC manufacturer demands that the company delay the scheduled transition to Vista and extend sales of its previous Windows operating system, Windows XP, for another five months because some customers preferred XP.
In a note to clients, Bernstein Research analyst Charles Di Bona said he thinks Vista's upgrade cycle is "under-appreciated" and expects growth at the Windows business to be stronger than market expectations.
Windows runs on more than 90 per cent of the world's computers and Microsoft makes about 75 cents in profit for every dollar in Windows sales. The Windows client business generated $15 billion in revenue is fiscal 2007.