IDC Pegs Vista Sales At 90 Million In 2007

Adding its voice to the chorus forecasting Windows Vista uptake during 2007, IDC said Wednesday that it expects the new operating system to grab a beachhead of 90 million PCs next year, largely on the back of new computer sales to consumers.

IDC predicted that 90% of PCs sold to home users next year will be powered by one of the Windows Vista Home editions. Businesses, however, will take to Vista only a third as much: Just 35% of new computers deployed by companies during the year will be equipped with Vista Business or Vista Enterprise.

"The adoption of Windows Vista will take place almost immediately among consumers, while businesses will follow a decidedly more conservative adoption curve," said Al Gillen, an IDC research VP, in a statement.

IDC says Vista Home Basic will be the OS of choice on consumer PCs in 2007; it will appear on two out of every three new systems, the company said. The more expensive Home Premium will account for nearly all the remainder.

On the enterprise side, 82% of the Vista-equipped PCs will sport the Business edition, with the remaining 18% running Vista Enterprise.

Microsoft will hold a U.S. launch event in New York Thursday to introduce Windows Vista and the Office 2007 application suite.