Having been in this business 27 years gives me some experience. But nothing in my experience matches what Microsoft is attempting; a free OS update for more than 500 million computers.
Do I have a prediction? Can Microsoft handle the server load? Will everyone be impressed but the support? I don’t say so. However, I will predict that whether Microsoft is successful or unsuccessful, we will all remember August 1, 2015 as the date that Windows changed the World, for better or worse.
What I’m anticipating is a combination of people successful in the Windows 10 transition, looking for help with the new OS and how to do things. I also predict a certain percentage of failed updates. Even a 1% failure rate means 5 million computers that no longer boot. So I would predict that more PC hardware will be shipped in August 2015 than in any month of the last four years.
So many people, reinstalling apps, looking up licenses, switching to newer versions.
We also look with some interest at Microsoft’s “Phone Companion” software, which will “magically” keep everything in sync. Since Windows 10 preview is out, and Phone Companion is not in it, I definitely think magic is what they need now. I think it will be good for CompanionLink (thank you Microsoft for naming your feature) to continue to do what we do – simple and dependable phone sync. There’s nothing they will introduce in two weeks that can match the features and dependability of CompanionLink and DejaOffice.