In a blog post on its official website, Microsoft looks back on the performance of its Windows operating system over the past two years and shares some of its achievements during the period. There are currently over 1.4 billion monthly active users of Windows 10 and 11 worldwide, and time spent on Windows has increased by 10% from pre-pandemic levels.

On average, people spend 40% more time on their Windows 11 PCs than on their Windows 10 PCs, but that may not be entirely due to the new operating system’s prowess.

Citing figures from Canalys, Microsoft says that more than 340 million PCs were delivered in 2021, a growth of 27% compared to 2019.

Windows 11 has been well received by PC users, according to Microsoft, as the free upgrade was accepted at twice the rate of Windows 10 compared to Windows 8. Microsoft also shares that Windows 11 apparently has the scores highest quality and satisfaction of any Windows. Obviously, these two items don’t mention that Windows 11 is only offered to a small subset of Windows 10 users, whereas Windows 10 was available to just about all Windows 8 users.

Yet the numbers are impressive, as the transition has not been perfectly smooth. There were documented issues with Windows 11 on AMD processors, along with a number of other bugs and performance issues. But these were quickly resolved and are now a thing of the past – most of them, anyway.

Microsoft says Windows 11 is responsible for a three-fold increase in Microsoft Store traffic, but it could also be the result of new, more favorable store policies from 2021.

Finally, Microsoft announced that the Windows 11 upgrade offer is entering its final phase of availability, well ahead of the original mid-2022 plan.

Source | Going through

Thesis statement

For decades, Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) has been a household name thanks to its Windows operating systems and flagship “Xbox” game console. The company quickly jumped into the gaming arena and was the first to leverage gaming with its “Game Pass” subscription model. With the recent acquisition of Activision, the company may well be planning its biggest move into the Metaverse. I’m bullish on the stock because of its continued, forward-looking, long-term strategic moves to build shareholder value and wealth, especially as it relates to the gaming industry, the Metaverse and cloud computing.

A force to be reckoned with in the game

Acquisition of Activision by Microsoft (NASDAQ:ATVI) has become a trending topic online, creating buzz around the company’s ambitions in the games market. The deal, which is expected to close in the second half of 2023, will not only be the video game industry’s largest all-cash acquisition transaction to date, worth approximately $69 billion in enterprise value and $95 per share, eclipsing its previous largest acquisition. , LinkedIn, which was about $26 billion.

Obviously, on a relative scale, the acquisition represents only 3.3% of Microsoft’s total market capitalization of $2.14 trillion, and some would say it’s insignificant. However, MSFT is already a major player in the games industry, and the addition of Activision creates synergies that provide greater operational efficiency and a strategic competitive advantage to capitalize on the untapped metaverse market.

This acquisition highlights the company’s serious ambition in the gaming market. It has steadily increased its market share in the gaming segment over the previous two decades since the launch of Xbox in 2001. Additionally, the company has aggressively expanded its gaming effort since acquiring Mojang, the creator of Minecraft, in 2015. This was followed by the launch of Xbox Game Pass in 2017 and the acquisition of ZeniMax Media, parent company of Bethesda Game Studios, last year.

These investments have captured a sizable chunk of the nearly $180 billion gaming industry, resulting in the gaming component of the business accounting for nearly 11% of total revenue. According to Statista, Microsoft dominates the gaming network market with a whopping 50% market share in the United States. By comparison, Reuters reported a global post-purchase Activision gaming market share of 10.7% for the tech giant.

Microsoft’s Game Pass costs $10 or $15 a month to subscribe per user, and the company has more than 25 million subscribers, translating into an average revenue of $3.75 billion a year. Additionally, mobile gaming hasn’t been one of Microsoft’s strong suits, and Activision’s hold on King/Candy Crush also gives the company a strong entry point into that market.

With the company’s latest acquisition, Microsoft’s market share and increased gaming revenue is poised to grow rapidly with Activision’s additional 400 million monthly active gamers. This will make “Game Pass one of the most compelling and diverse lines of gaming content in the industry,” further bolstering the company’s strong moat.

Entering Metaverse with Mesh & HoloLens 2

Microsoft’s “Mesh” will be released in the first half of 2022. The Azure-powered software will allow users to connect via HoloLens 2, mixed reality (MR) headsets, smartphones, tablets or PCs and collaborate as holographic presence. The Mesh will leverage Microsoft’s desktop customer base, as it will be integrated with Office 365, to be used as a virtual worksharing space as an extension of Microsoft Teams. Over time, Microsoft plans to integrate Mesh into its other applications and generalize Metaverse. Financial information related to Mesh has not been made available, so accurate analysis may take time. Still, the implications of Mesh should resonate throughout the industry.

Quoting Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella,

Gaming is the fastest growing and most exciting entertainment category across all platforms today and will play a key role in the development of metaverse platforms.

He stated the above in the press release of the company’s Activision acquisition agreement, which clearly shows that Microsoft is planning to leverage Activision’s platform to break into the Metaverse. Considering that the concept of Metaverse is still not clearly defined, the precursors, including Microsoft, will be the pioneers of what Metaverse transcends.

The company’s direction and vision are evident, as in an interview with Bloomberg, Satya Nadella said,

If you take ‘Halo’ as a game, it’s a metaverse. “Minecraft” is a metaverse, just like “Flight Sim”. In a sense, they are 2D today, and the question is, “Can you now bring that into a fully 3D world?” And we absolutely intend to do so.

Unsurprisingly, the collaboration with Activision could do just that, as the company’s “World of Warcraft” role-playing game also encompasses a vast virtual world where users appear as avatars and purchase virtual goods such as pets, etc. .

The growing cloud business

Investors pay tribute to the CEO who, since taking office in 2014, has transformed MSFT into a major cloud player. The azure segment is now a core segment and has seen strong growth through 2021, with an impressive 32% year-over-year growth rate. Azure is more than just a cloud service and leverages AI, BI and IoT platforms, which are expected to drive growth in the years to come.

Microsoft’s Q2-2022 revenue of $51.7 billion and EPS of $2.48 once again exceeded analyst estimates of $50.88 billion and $2.31, respectively , posting an annual growth of more than 20%. Revenue generated by the company’s cloud computing segment accounted for more than 35% of total revenue at $18.3 billion, with annual growth of 26%, outpacing overall annual revenue growth. Additionally, revenue from Azure and other cloud services increased by nearly 46% in Q2-2022, 50% in Q1-2022, and 51% in Q4 2021. This signifies significant business growth of the company’s cloud computing and was the cause of the post-earnings rise in the company’s stock.

According to Gartner, the global cloud computing market is expected to grow approximately 19.6% from $332.2 billion in 2021 to $397.5 billion in 2022. McKinsey reported that the cloud computing market is expected to reach $1 trillion by 2030. This strongly supports the future of the business. cloud’s growth and favorable prospects for the next decade.

Microsoft Azure is second only to Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) Web Services (AWS), with an 18% market share in the global cloud computing market. However, of course, the numbers don’t really reflect an objective reality since Microsoft does in many areas of cloud computing what AWS doesn’t, for example, its SQL segment offers a lot more services that wouldn’t be taken into account. in the event of a consensus on market shares. Therefore, only comparing the two in areas where the two go together does not give the complete picture. Over ten years, the Azure segment would be the main driver of growth, and as it captures a larger share of overall revenue, operating margins should improve slightly.

Wallstreet analysts remain positive on the stock with a consensus average target price of $372, up nearly 30%. The company’s cloud computing segment plays a major role in these positive sentiments. According to Piper Sandler analyst Brent Bracelin, Microsoft Azure has already surpassed Windows and is now well positioned to overtake Microsoft Office productivity software as the company’s top revenue source in 2022.

Similarly, Bank of America analyst Brad Sills wrote that:

Microsoft is well positioned to deliver sustained low double-digit growth over the next 3-5 years, driven by continued adoption of Azure cloud infrastructure platform, cloud-based Office 365 productivity suite and more profitable revenue for games and game passes on Xbox.

In the wake of the pandemic, the need for cloud computing has rapidly increased. Microsoft already has a large customer base of enterprise customers using its productivity software and data management solutions. As these customers migrate to the cloud, they would prefer to stay with the same provider rather than switch to a new one. Since Microsoft does not release its Azure dollar figures separately, but rather merges them into the total “Intelligent Cloud”, it is difficult to predict the exact effect this might have on the financial statements. However, the sentiment remains positive.

Conclusion

The stock market correction has put one of the best tech names up for sale, and Microsoft remains one of the strongest players in the tech industry, with extensive offerings in multiple areas. My bullish sentiment around the company resonates with the company’s intensive future initiatives, mainly around the growth of the gaming market, the future Metaverse and the accelerated cloud computing market.

Although it is a second in the cloud computing space, Microsoft Azure’s impressive growth metrics in recent quarters have highlighted it as a serious threat to the market leader. Additionally, it remains to be seen how Activision’s recent acquisition will pan out in the long term, but overall sentiment regarding the deal remains promising.

Microsoft released Windows 11 less than three months ago. At the end of November, the operating system was powering nearly 10% of all PCs, and millions of PCs around the world are being upgraded right now. If you are looking to upgrade your devices to the new operating system, Microsoft has made the process as seamless as possible. There are, however, some aspects to consider. Here is a step by step guide on how to upgrade to Windows 11.

With the new Windows-as-a-Service model introduced with Windows 10 and the semi-annual feature updates, many thought Windows 10 would be the last version of the Windows operating system. But nothing lasts forever, certainly not a Windows operating system. Windows 11 is here. The question is when do you want to jump on board. While no one likes the Windows upgrade process, Microsoft has made it a lot simpler than when you had to go from, say, XP to Windows 7. You don’t need to go to the store to buy a disc or download an ISO file from the Microsoft website. Windows 11 ships directly to your computer as a download. Accept it and off you go for the races.

Tips for those who don’t want to upgrade

At some point you will need to upgrade because Microsoft will. end of support for all versions of Windows 10 by June 23, 2023. However, if you want to keep Windows 10 for longer, there are a few ways to do it. If you are a home user and Windows 11 is currently offered on the Windows Update page, you can click “Stay on Windows 10 for now” as shown in the screenshot below.

However, this is only a reprieve, as you will be invited again several weeks later. You can stop the Windows Update service completely, but that’s not the right thing to do because it ends all Windows updates, not just Windows 11. You can change the TargetReleaseVersion setting in the registry for a more permanent solution. You can specify either the current version of Windows 10 that you want to keep or a newer version that you want to use. The latest version is version 21H2, so let’s choose this one. Using the Regedit tool, navigate to:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREPoliciesMicrosoftWindowsWindowsUpdate]

If you don’t see the TargetReleaseVersion parameter here, create one. Make sure it has an assigned value of 1. Create and then assign the following two string values:

“Product version” = “Windows 10

“TargetReleaseVersionInfo” = “21H2”

The final form will look like this below:

For corporate environments that use Group Policy, you can also create a GPO to defer Windows 11. Create a GPO and go to Computer Configuration> Administrative Templates> Windows Components> Windows Update> Windows Update for Business and enable the parameter. You can then specify Windows 10 as the product version. You can also set the target version, such as 21H2. The registry and GPO methods will require you to install only Windows updates for the specified version.

See more : Windows 11 Summary: Key Productivity and Security Features in Microsoft’s New Operating System

System requirements for Windows 11

Whenever you decide to upgrade to Windows 11, you must first determine whether your machine (s) are suitable for the new operating system. The first requirement is that the device must be running Windows 10 version 2004 or later. It must also be connected to the Internet. The hardware requirements are shown below.

• Processor: 1 GHz or faster with 2 or more cores on a 64-bit processor.
• 4 GB of RAM
• 64 GB of disk storage
• UFE BIOS with Secure Boot
• TPM 2.0
• 9 inch or larger screen with 720p resolution
• Compatible with DirectX 12 or later with WDDM 2.0 driver.

Most computers today certainly meet the minimum requirements for memory and disk storage. However, many computers may not support TPM 2.0. TPM 2.0 is required by Windows 11 for some of its security features, such as Windows Hello and BitLocker. Most computers made in the past five years should have it. To find out, go to Settings> Update & security> Windows security> Device security. Find the security chip and, if present, click on it. You should see version 2.0 listed as shown below.

If you don’t see it in the list, it might not be enabled because some manufacturers disable this feature by default. You need to enable TPM using your computer’s UEFI BIOS firmware. Go to Settings> Update & Security> Windows Security> Recovery and select “Restart now” under Advanced.

Once the following screen appears, choose Troubleshoot> Advanced options> UEFI Firmware> Settings> and find the TPM setting which can have multiple names such as TPM State or Security Device State. Then restart.

If your computer only supports TPM 1.2 and you are determined to install Windows 11, you can run the following registry hack to bypass the requirement.

• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SYSTEM Setup MoSetup
• Name: AllowUpgradesWithUnsupportedTPMOrCPU
• Type: REG_DWORD
• Value: 1

Of course, this goes against best practice and is strongly discouraged by Microsoft.

See more : Windows 11: Microsoft Office gets a makeover

Checking Windows PC Status

If you are a personal PC user or if your company only uses a few computer models in its fleet, you can run Checking PC Status on your computer which will automatically determine if it is compatible with Windows 11. You can download the app from here as MSI and install it as shown below.

Once installed, click the “Check Now” button and you will have a full read about your computer’s readiness in under a minute. The end result should be something similar to the screenshot below:

See more : Is Apple MacOS Monterey secure enough for business use?

Installing Windows 11 with Microsoft Endpoint Manager (Intune)

The business administrator can manage the upgrade process using Windows Update for Business. You can create policies using Group Policy or Microsoft Endpoint Manager. For MEM, go to Devices> Feature updates for Windows 10 and later (Preview). Then create a strategy. Name the policy and select the Windows 11 feature update for your deployment as shown below.

Feature updates for Windows 10 and later (Preview)

You can choose to deploy the update as soon as possible or select a specific date. You can also let MEM spread out the deployment process over time. This is beneficial if all of your devices are on-premises and you don’t have the bandwidth for mass deployment. Then assign the groups and you’re done.

Some post-deployment tasks

While Microsoft says Windows 11 will support any app currently supported by Windows 10, it’s best to trust but verify. You might even want to check ahead for some apps. If you depend on third-party antivirus software, you’ll want to make sure these security software suites are working properly from the start. As tax season quickly approaches, you might want to save your accountants and tax preparers a headache by checking the compatibility of the software they need. Finally, it would be best if you were very diligent in running Windows Updates to fix any undiscovered bugs that might appear once large-scale deployments have started.

Conclusion

All in all, it’s a painless process to upgrade to Windows 11. If you don’t like Windows 11, the good news is that you can go back to Windows 10 within ten days of upgrading. As Windows 10 has been so successful, it will be interesting to see if Windows 11 can follow in its footsteps. Otherwise, there’s still Windows 12 to wait.

Which feature of Windows 11 do you prefer? Let us know about LinkedIn, Twitter, Where Facebook. We would love to hear from you!