Here are the main reasons why you should still use Windows for your business apps.
You’ve been familiar with Windows for a very long time
For many professionals – and that’s not just people working in IT – Windows has been around for most if not all of their lives. It’s the operating system millions of us have used right from the beginning – when we learned how to use Word, how to make a PowerPoint presentation, and how enter data into Excel spreadsheets.
Windows is a system that is so ingrained into our everyday lives that the thought of switching to an alternative seems incomprehensible, at least for PC and laptop users. For many years techy friends of mine have suggested I try Mac of Linux, and while I have used Linux a fair bit for personal use, I have personally need found it suitable for business use.
The New Windows Update is Free
In a bid to retain its vast customer base and deter people from moving to competitors, Microsoft’s latest Windows 10 update doesn’t cost a penny. Microsoft has also introduced something more nostalgic with Windows 10, because it returns to the more traditional version of Windows that so many of us were accustomed to several years ago. The format of Windows 10 is not only one that we are instinctively familiar with, it also brings many of us back to our youth and childhood.
After updating to Windows 10 a couple of weeks ago, I have not had any major problems – apart from losing the free version of Word I was running on Windows 7. WordPad is pretty good, although it has hardly changed, so no major loss. Most businesses have Microsoft Office already, or Microsoft 365, so this will not be an issue.
The New Windows Phone 10 – a Big Improvement on its Predecessors
With Windows Phone 10, you can use the device’s excellent Smart Universal app collaboration feature – Microsoft says this new phone will be released to the public in “a day or two”.
However, once released, all Windows phones using the 8.1 system will be upgradeable, and users will be able to take advantage of a more integrated system with significant improvements to many existing apps.
Although Google and Apple provide integration between their mobile and desktop services, everything on Windows does seem so much more fluid at the moment. In fact, Windows 10 provides improvements in cross platform app development, which makes it a better platform for web developers, one to possibly rival Linux.
For any businesses that run large databases, on accessing the Azure cloud service on Windows 10 gives you access to the DocumentDB NoSQL database.
Some of the Best Windows Phone Apps
Already, the Windows Phone has more than 300,000 apps in its store, and while this is still well below the number offered by competitors, it is certainly a step in the right direction. Cortana, the personal assistant that many users have had problems with in the past, will have a new ‘ask me anything’ bar and will appear more animated than the Windows Phone 8.
With Office Remote, you can turn your phone into a remote control to operate apps like Excel or Word straight from your desktop, which means you’ll have no trouble handling work presentations all from your phone. Windows has even incorporated a clever word-prediction tool on its keyboard, which enables you to type faster than ever before. Thus, you can avoid unprofessional typos and irritating (or downright embarrassing) autocorrect mistakes that have plagued iPhone users for years.
Top-Notch Security
There’s another very good reason why Microsoft is still the number one choice – in fact the only choice – for millions of businesses and consumers: it puts security first. Microsoft stated that Windows 10 would be ‘the most secure Windows ever’, built in with a Windows Defender that can monitor up to one billion devices to protect computer users from malware.
With its innovative SmartScreen Filter, Windows 10 also helps safeguard users against suspicious websites and software, using cloudware to detect potential phishing attacks. Last but not least, thanks to the Windows Hello mechanism being built into the Windows 10 Phone, your device will only recognise you, the owner. Although, personally, I would still run a third party AV, such as Avast!, AVG or McAfee, as well as an anti-Malware tool, such as MalwareBytes.
Why would you use another operating system if most of your clients and customers still pledge allegiance to Windows? In my opinion, Apple do provide great services, and if you are doing any web-based work, such as design and development, working on a Linux platform makes building and testing websites a breeze (most websites run on LAMP: Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP), but for everything else, a fast Windows 10 machine beats them all.
