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| Gartner Says Windows XP to Have Small Penetration Into Business Segment Until 2003 |
| Projections Show Windows XP to Have Most Immediate Impact on Home Segment |
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STAMFORD, Conn., October 25, 2001 - The consumer segment will see rapid implementation of Windows XP Home, but in the business market, Windows 2000 will be the leading operating system in 2002, according to the latest worldwide forecast by Dataquest, Inc., a unit of Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT and ITB).
In the consumer market, Gartner Dataquest forecasts 87 percent of new Windows PCs will have Windows XP Home in 2002. In the business segment, Windows XP Professional will be in 16 percent of new Windows PCs in 2002, while Windows 2000 will be in 41 percent of new Windows PCs at the end of next year. "In terms of stability alone, Windows XP Home is a dramatic advance over Windows 98, 98 SE and Windows Me," said Michael Silver, research director for Gartner. "However, Windows XP Professional is clearly only an incremental change from Windows 2000 professional. "Most enterprises will see little return on investment upgrading existing Windows 2000 machines to Windows XP and should ensure there is return on investment before upgrading any existing PCs," Silver said. "Existing PCs that will only be owned for less than 12 months should almost never be upgraded and, instead, should be replaced with a new PC with a new operating system during normal refresh cycles. For new Windows PCs, enterprises should make every effort to ensure they're delivered with Windows 2000 or Windows XP instead of an older version of Windows." Many PC vendors have hoped that Windows XP will help drive sales of PCs in the fourth quarter of 2001, but Gartner analysts said this is unlikely. Gartner Dataquest projects worldwide PC shipments to decline 13 percent in the fourth quarter of 2001 compared to the fourth quarter of 2000. "Although Windows XP offers solid technology, Microsoft's ability to push the rest of the PC market has lessened, and it will not be able to overcome a slow economy and market saturation," said Charles Smulders, vice president of Gartner Dataquest's Computing Platforms Worldwide group. "The release of Windows XP will only mildly affect new PC sales, with the majority being replacements of old systems at the end of their lives." Additional analysis about Windows XP is available in the Gartner Research Spotlight "Windows and Office XP: Microsoft's New 'Experiences.'" In this series of research documents, Gartner analysts examine the benefits, costs and risks involved in migrating to Windows XP and Office XP. This Spotlight issue can be found on Gartner's Web site at www.gartner.com. Gartner, Inc. is a research and advisory firm that helps more than 10,000 clients understand technology and drive business growth. Gartner's divisions consist of Gartner Research, Gartner Consulting, Gartner Measurement and Gartner Events. Founded in 1979, Gartner is headquartered in Stamford, Conn., and has 4,600 associates, including 1,400 research analysts and consultants, in more than 80 locations worldwide. The company achieved fiscal 2000 revenues of $855 million. For more information, visit www.gartner.com. |
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Contact: Tom McCall 408-468-8312 tom.mccall@gartner.com |
