Windows 10: A Game Changer for the Internet?

July 29th (2015) could be a game changer for the internet.

Do you recognise the date?

Maybe it’s your birthday. Maybe your anniversary? (In which case, you’re welcome).

It’s also the date that you’ll be able to get Microsoft’s much anticipated Windows 10.

Or will you?

I’ll come onto that, and whilst it may seem like quite a bold statement that Windows 10 will be a game changer for the internet, I think it could be and I’ll explain why.

1) Windows 10 – a free upgrade for 12 months for Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 users

All users (including your PC at home if it’s Windows 7 or above) are entitled to the upgrade for no cost, as long as you upgrade within a year of its official release date.

If like me, you’re a bit of a geek, you may already have registered for the upgrade on the 29th July. And that’s when I’ll be looking to install it.

Statistics on the number of users who are using operating systems is difficult to obtain, but estimates suggest 74% of global users are using Windows 7 and above. So if we use the stats for PCs shipped in 2014, that’s 278 million! My maths isn’t great, but I make that approximately 205 million eligible desktops/laptops (ignoring phones and tablets) for the upgrade.

So what do those numbers mean? Well, if we assume the download is going to be around 3GB (low estimate based on the preview image files) and we all downloaded Windows 10 (from the internet) on the 29th July, that would be 615 million GB (615 Petabytes) in total – all vying for a connection at the same time.

That’s a big day for the internet.

Obviously, these figures include both personal and business devices. But this is a real concern for people who want to get Windows 10 right away. Think about how slow your internet goes when everybody in the office starts streaming the same video. Now imagine that x 100. Chances are, your connection won’t be able to handle it if you don’t put any controls on it.

There are clever tools that can be used within businesses to limit staff downloading it on day 1 of their own free will. Tools like our own TSG SystemCare for example which can enable a controlled download of Windows 10 for your employees.

So, you might not be able to get Windows 10 on July 29th. But that might not be a bad thing, if the end result is you all get to enjoy Windows 10 without bringing the internet crashing down around you. Plus, by taking the time to work out how Windows 10 can sit within your organisation, you’ll be able to experience more of the benefits (see our recent video series on Windows 10 for an overview of these benefits).

2) Accessing applications across your devices

As a Windows phone and device user, the ability to use my phone or tablet to work on a file when mobile, then have it open on my PC when I get back to the office is really exciting. But for this to happen, the computer and mobile device needs to be connected to the internet. How else are they going to be able to speak to each other?

It sounds like Windows 10 is going to be a great experience on a PC, but will only truly come into its own when used with multiple devices.

This could also see an increase in users utilising the One Drive feature (already available in Office 365) built into Windows 10 i.e storing your data in the Cloud where there is far more capacity and far more easily sharable, rather than being trapped on the desktop of a single device, which you can only use on that device.

3) Windows 10 is the last version of Windows

There won’t be a Windows 11 – this is it. From now on, Microsoft will simply issue updates and improvements for Windows 10 on a smaller, but more regular, scale.

For those iPhone/ iPad users amongst us, this feature won’t be new one to us – we’re used to downloading new versions of iOS on a regular basis.

However, for those staunch Microsoft users, the idea of Windows always being the latest and greatest version will bring some new challenges for businesses and personal users alike.

The Evergreen policy (i.e everything up to date and always the latest version) will certainly keep application developers on their toes (i.e compatibility issues), but the key will be how to control this in a corporate environment and ensure bandwidth usage is kept to a minimum.

For the administrators amongst us, think the old Windows Update Services, but on steroids.

Now my point is, we definitely all know when Apple launch a new iOS. It seems the entire world is competing for internet coverage, but more often than all that happens is you gaze wistfully at the barometer which tells you there’s still ‘7 hours to complete download’.

What’s the impact going to be like when Microsoft launch one for their PCs platforms? When Microsoft own 92% of the PC market? Hmmm…

4) Adoption of Cloud Technology

Windows 10 will provide an opportunity for businesses to look at how we use other applications within the corporate environment. Personal and business users will have an opportunity to address how they use and consume applications, but also store their files.

If you’re refreshing an environment and based on the above Evergreen policy for Windows, the logical step to ensure applications are readily compatible is using cloud based technology like CRM online, Office 365 and Sharepoint.

Any cloud based technology as you can imagine, by design, is reliant on the internet connectivity for that device and serious considerations need to be made where a large number of users are accessing these types of technology.

In conclusion, Windows 10 is going to make the most out of next generation networks across the UK and the globe, but as with any improvements in bandwidth and connectivity, the environments, applications and users are finding ways of maximizing their usage of what is available.

Moving seamlessly from one device to another is what we are wanting to do now, but internet speed and bandwidth must not only keep up with the likes of Windows 10, it must also keep improving on itself.

It’s important that any businesses and users are ready for an increase in internet usage, because how we use technology is changing. Gone are they days where the internet was only used for email, a little bit of news and videos of cute cats doing silly things (although here’s a good one if you’re into that sort of thing).

Like Steve said in one of his first blogs about Windows 10 – “We need a revolution in connectivity”.

Feel free to get in touch with us if you have any questions about Windows 10 or Cloud technology.