Research Study Outlines IT Impact of Windows Vista

A research study released by International Data Corporation (IDC) and commissioned by Microsoft Corp. shows that the Windows Vista operating system will drive significant economic growth in the United States in its first year of shipment. The study's findings indicate that Windows Vista will provide a foundation for the information technology market moving forward, creating more than 100,000 new jobs and driving $70 billion or more in revenues for Microsoft's partners and the industry at large. Windows Vista, together with the 2007 Microsoft Office system, was made available on Nov. 30 to volume licensing customers and will be broadly available on Jan. 30.

"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."

The impact of Windows Vista on the U.S. market will drive substantial revenue and growth for many companies that are part of the Windows ecosystem -- companies that sell hardware, write software, provide IT services or serve as IT distribution channels. Today's study forecasts that the release of Windows Vista will help bolster the more than 200,000 U.S. IT companies that will produce, sell or distribute products and services running on Windows Vista, including many small, locally owned businesses. The study forecasts that each dollar of Windows Vista-related revenue earned by Microsoft in 2007 will generate more than $18 in revenue for the IT industry at large.

The IDC study also shows that the Microsoft ecosystem is making a sizable investment to prepare for and roll out Windows Vista worldwide. IDC expects Microsoft partners to invest approximately $10 billion in Windows Vista- related products and services between now and the end of 2007. As these products and services gain mass-market adoption over the course of the next year, IDC expects Microsoft's partners and others in the IT industry to generate more than $70 billion in revenues directly tied to Windows Vista. This includes revenue from manufacturers that sell hardware running the new operating system, revenues for non-Microsoft software packages built to run on Windows Vista, and services supporting Windows Vista.

The complete IDC study on the economic impact of Windows Vista is available at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/itanalyst/docs/IDCVistaEcoImpactDec2006.pdf
on Microsoft's corporate information pages.