The Enterprise Is Unlikely to Jump on Microsoft's Metro

Microsoft recently released a developer preview of Windows 8 , which Steven Sinofsky, president of Microsoft's Windows division, called a "bold re-imagination." For once, corporate hype is accurate; this new version of Windows is dramatically different from Windows 7 , Vista and XP. Not that different always means better. Enterprises are going to be especially hard-pressed to see improvements in Windows 8. In fact, they might skip the upgrade entirely.

To understand why, let's take a brief look at the upcoming operating system. Windows 8 introduces an interface, which it calls Metro, that's completely different from anything ever seen in Windows before. ( Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols has more to say about Metro .) Based on the Windows Phone 7 tiled interface, Metro is clearly designed for tablets. When you boot Windows 8, you're dropped straight into the Metro interface, which is made up of many large, brightly colored tiles. The tiles can display changing information such as stock prices or social network updates -- whatever you prefer.

The tiles run full-screen, just like tablet or smartphone apps. They lack the usual Windows menus and controls and can't be resized. They're simple to use and clearly designed for consumers.

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