Windows 2000 sales leave NT standing

Fourth quarter sales of Windows 2000 will outnumber sales of Windows NT by 1.7 million as support for the operating system kicks in, according to researcher IDC.

Furthermore, by the end of 2001, IDC expects Windows 2000 shipments to account for almost 71 per cent of all sales of NT-class Windows.

IDC said sales of Windows 2000 Professional will be particularly strong, fuelled partly by its support for new hardware technologies such as universal serial bus and plug-and-play.

By the end of 2001, IDC expects Windows 2000 Professional to account for 72 per cent of NT and 2000 workstation sales, up from 40 per cent at the end of this year.

Al Gillen, an analyst at IDC, said: "There are numerous reasons for this fast acceptance, including support for new hardware technologies that Windows NT Workstation 4.0 didn't offer, such as universal serial bus, advanced power management, and plug-and-play support that really works."

Gillen said companies are now feeling confident that most of the bugs in the operating system have been ironed out and are implementing the product because of its benefits over NT 4.0.

"The majority of the transition to Windows 2000 is taking place now and will continue for the next 12 to 18 months," he said.

Meanwhile, although Windows 2000 Server's adoption has not been as rapid, it is picking up, said IDC. It will account for about 35 per cent of all Windows server sales during this month, compared with 16 per cent for all of 2000.

By the end of next year, Windows 2000 Server will account for 56 per cent of total Windows server sales.