Can Microsoft Juggle Three Operating Systems?

Microsoft's tricky balancing act in 2009 will be to phase out Windows XP while boosting demand for Windows Vista and building anticipation for Windows 7.

Compounding this challenge is that Vista has been Microsoft's most embattled operating system, and though recent reports say that Vista has improved over the past year, there are also reports of a growing indifference from users. Many are sticking with Windows XP for now (or even requesting to "downgrade" to XP with new computer purchases) with the hope that Windows 7 will be more nimble and efficient than Vista.

Recent market share numbers from Net Applications Inc. show that Microsoft's market share is slipping with both Windows and the Internet Explorer browser, while companies like Apple and Mozilla keep making incremental gains. A silver lining in the Net Applications report is that Vista grew its market share in November and cracked the 20 percent mark for the fist time as Windows XP fell 1.81 percent.

With the definite release of Internet Explorer 8 and the possible release of Windows 7 happening in 2009, plus Microsoft's aggressive push into cloud computing with the Windows Azure operating system, the coming year looks to be a pivotal one for the software giant.

Keeping the Windows 7 Hype Machine on Low

So far, the hype surrounding Windows 7 has been kept to a minimum by Microsoft, likely an effort not to repeat the over-hyping that hurt Vista's release. Playing it cool with Windows 7 will also give Vista some breathing room as Windows XP slowly becomes less prevalent.

Windows 7 Release: Sooner Is Better

Microsoft has not given an official release date for Windows 7, but has said publicly that it expects to ship it within three years of the January 2007 consumer release of Windows Vista.

Gartner Research has predicted that Microsoft will ship Windows 7 in time for the 2009 holiday season, which would require shipment to take place around August 2009.

Gartner analyst Michael Silver expects that Microsoft will try to differentiate Windows 7 from Vista by keeping ship date hype to a minimum and then delivering earlier than anticipated.