KUALA LUMPUR, 16 SEPTEMBER 2009 – Malaysian industry players say the forthcoming launch of software giant Microsoft’s new operating system, Windows 7, will act as a stimulus to the local industry.
Speaking in Kuala Lumpur, together with industry partners that include as Intel, Acer, Dell, HP, Toshiba, Lenovo and Asus, Microsoft Asia Pacific chief marketing officer, Andrew Pickup said the new PC operating system would catalyse economic growth for the local ICT sector.
“Windows 7 will help automate everyday tasks, deliver enhanced security and streamline manageability,” said Pickup. “The increased discussion around Windows 7 coincides with a renaissance in the PC market and people are rediscovering the incredible choice and values that PCs represent.”
“We built Windows 7 with our partners, and their confidence in the product reflects this deep collaboration,” he said.
He cited an IDC report, which shows Windows 7 would account for almost 50 per cent of Windows operating systems bought by corporations worldwide in 2010, and expects 177 million units to be shipped by the end of 2010. “The report further states that in the case of Windows 7, less than one per cent of global IT spending will drive nearly 20 per cent of global IT employment and account for a significant portion of the new jobs created in the IT industry in late 2009 and 2010.”
From smallest notebook
“Partners and customers told us Windows 7 needs to work the way people want them to work,” said Microsoft Malaysia chief marketing and operations officer, Yasir Yousuff. “We knew partners were counting on us to get the ‘fundamentals’ right. We needed to give them a completely stable base on which to innovate and differentiate for our mutual customers and thus far the consistent feedback we have received from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) is that we have surpassed the product quality bar.”
“Windows 7 would run on the smallest notebooks [netbooks] to the most powerful media and gaming systems. Collaboration focused on increasing performance across PC types, notably on system startup and shut down,” said Yousuff.
He added that the new OS is designed to conserve energy.
Joint development and integration
“Throughout the development process of Windows 7, Intel has been working together with Microsoft towards a common goal—simplify the PC experience, better performance and responsiveness and better energy efficiency,” said Intel Malaysia country manager, Ryaz Patel. “This joint development effort ensured that current and future Intel-based platforms meet all the requirements for the upcoming Microsoft operating system and enable users to experience the full potential of Windows 7 when it is released.”
Dell Malaysia country general manager, Yuri Wahab, said: “Many customers fear that migrating to a new OS can be time-consuming and complicated, but Dell is already helping customers realise the benefits of upgrading to Microsoft Windows 7 through our tight integration with Microsoft. We have spent literally thousands of engineering hours to help develop and test Windows 7 on the Dell platform as it is our job to make the process as easy as possible for the consumer, to help them do what they want to do without thinking about how to do it.”
“Our close alliance with Microsoft ensures that our products will be ready when Windows 7 is released,” said Acer sales and services head of desktop and server product department, Chan Weng Hong. “It is Acer’s goal to make computer technology easier to use, more useful in daily life and more affordable to everyone, everywhere, and we believe that Windows 7 shares this same goal.”
Lenovo Malaysia channel manager, distributor, consumer business, Yap Hui Hui, added: “With the upcoming launch of Windows 7, Microsoft’s new operating system will redefine how people think about computing.”
“The Windows 7 platform will allow HP to bring continued innovation breakthroughs like HP notebooks and desktops and to deliver a great computing experience to our customers,” said HP Malaysia country general manager, personal systems group, Danny Lee.
