Once Microsoft Vista gets into the marketplace, it will benefit the economy and drive job creation in the tech industry; no word on whether it will whiten teeth and freshen breath though.
Microsoft opened Vista to its volume licensing partners on November 30th. Consumers will have to wait until January 30th, 2007, to obtain a copy of the newest OS from Microsoft.
More than five years of development, delays, and a substantial reorganization of Microsoft’s business units have been part of the process of preparing Vista for the marketplace. Its debut schedule announced for this year initially had both versions of Vista arriving before the holidays.
Pushing the consumer release back to 2007 hindered the immediate profitability OEM companies like Dell could enjoy in 2006. PC manufacturers could have used the Vista release to drive a large volume of sales, essential in the razor-thin margin world of personal computing.
But once Vista gets here, it should deliver belated profits to OEMs and plenty of others in the tech industry. That $70 billion will disperse through more than 200,000 companies that either build, sell, or distribute services or products linked to Vista.
IDC claimed that for each dollar in Vista-related revenue Microsoft tallies in 2007, an additional eighteen dollars will enter the general IT industry. This economic increase will evidently lead to greater investment by the IT industry to create the 100,000 jobs IDC predicted.
That investment should be in the neighborhood of $10 billion for 2007.
“Our research indicates that Windows Vista will infuse new energy into the market in its first 12 months of availability, driving important job and economic growth through new industry revenues,” said John F. Gantz, chief research officer and senior vice president of IDC, and author of the study.
“Relatively rapid and widespread adoption of Windows Vista means that its launch will not only affect Microsoft, but will also have a positive impact on local economies throughout the world.”
(I would like to note it’s already helping certain hacks by providing an endless stream of stories to cover. Thanks Microsoft!)
UPDATE! Memory could be one place where Vista really pushes costs, according to CRN.
—
Tag:
Add to 
Bookmark Murdok: 
David Utter is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business.
