SMB Nation Blog

By Cindy Bates, Vice President of US SMB&D at Microsoft

The world looked a lot different when Windows XP was first introduced in 2001 than it does today. Since then, major technology advancements, such as cloud computing and virtualization, have given rise to better collaboration tools, greater mobility and flexibility to work from any location, and improved PC security and management. Now small businesses can leverage the same powerful technologies as large enterprises, at an affordable cost.

XPMigrations.com, a new co-op community of talented expert certified SMB IT Pros (“Geeks”), was launched today for the purpose of assisting small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) with upgrading away from Windows XP prior to the April 8, 2014 end-of-life deadline.

We recently received news that Microsoft will be offering a “Special Edition Office Accelerator Kit” to the first 100 partners who register to host a Microsoft Community Connections event to showcase the new office. The Microsoft Community Connections program is designed to foster local networking and education for small businesses.

Last week we blogged that Microsoft is making changes to its Windows 8 OS, reportedly naming it Microsoft Blue. Today, we heard that the company has now renamed this initiative Windows 8.1.  

In response to yesterday’s report by various analysts that Microsoft Windows 8 has not been able to curb declining PC sales, the tech giant said it will offer SMBs (up to 249 users) a 15% discount on the combined price of Windows 8 Pro and Office 2013 upgrades if they buy before the end of June 2013. 

Earlier today we posted a report by analyst firm IDC stating that PC sales experienced the steepest declines in the last quarter. IDC stated that shipments fell 14 percent—the sharpest drop since they began tracking this data almost 20 years ago; even more, the analyst firm added that this is the fourth straight quarter of decline.

Worldwide PC shipments totaled 76.3 million units in the first quarter of 2013 (1Q13), down -13.9% compared to the same quarter in 2012 and worse than the forecast decline of -7.7%, according to the IDC Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker. The extent of the year-on-year contraction marked the worst quarter since IDC began tracking the PC market quarterly in 1994. The results also marked the fourth consecutive quarter of year-on-year shipment declines.

Despite intense industry efforts to overcome market inertia, 2012 nonetheless ended on a sour note with global PC shipment volume shrinking 3.7% on the year. With limited initial traction from Windows 8 in the holiday season, and continued pressure from tablets, IDC now expects 2013 PC shipments to decline by 1.3% in 2013, according to the IDC Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker.

Mr. Onuora Amobi of Windows8update.com took a few moments from his busy schedule to let us know that he is now offering his Windows 8 eBook: “Windows 8 - The Top 50 Questions and Answers you need to make a decision"  and "The Windows 8 Business Checklist: 25 things companies need to know before they upgrade" free to members of the SMB Community who share the info page with colleagues.

Panasonic today expanded its Toughpad line of enterprise-grade tablets with the introduction of the Toughpad FZ-G1, a 10-inch tablet featuring Windows 8 Pro, and the availability of the Toughpad JT-B1, a 7-inch Android-powered unit. Both devices follow the original 10-inch Android-powered Toughpad FZ-A1 which became broadly available late last year. With the Toughpad family of ruggedized tablets, businesses and government institutions have a single partner delivering a selection of highly reliable and purpose-built devices ideal for numerous operational needs.

With 2012 coming to a close just last week, I can say, “Oh, what a year it has been” when it comes to the developments that occurred and the new products that were released in our industry. In case you missed out on any of these developments, or need a little refresher course, note my “playlist” below, which outlines SMB Nation’s Top 10 “Greatest Hits” of 2012, as per our blog posts.