A lot’s been said about Microsoft’s efforts to kill BYOD with Windows 8 and its new Surface Pro tablet. While some commentators have been bullish about its chances of success, insisting that Android and iOS devices just don’t have any place in the enterprise, the vast majority are yet to be convinced, with some even predicting that Windows 8 and Surface are doomed to failure already.

On the face of it, there’s every reason to believe in the naysayers. There are few better indicators of success than sales after all, and few would disagree that these have been disappointing to say the least. Whilst Microsoft stated that it’s sold “60 million” licenses as of January this year, critics were quick to point out that this doesn’t necessarily equate to 60 million Windows 8 users. Just because a license has been sold doesn’t mean its not sat in an OEM inventory or a store shelf somewhere, waiting to be installed.

Windows 8 Is The Only Choice For The Enterprise

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It’s a sorry state of affairs to be sure, but what must rankle with Microsoft even more than the disappointing adoption rate is that it knows Windows 8 is a vastly superior product to anything else available. Simply put, Windows 8 is a revelation for the enterprise. What Microsoft has done is to totally rethink and revamp the most successful operating system ever conceived, vastly improving it with funky apps, icons and intuitive swipes, replacing an outdated Start Menu, putting it on a par with anything the iPad can do – only better because it offers the essential desktop experience, and runs all the apps you’ll ever need, in addition to being a worthy mobile platform in its own right.

I’ll make a bold prediction here. Windows 8 will, in time, change our whole concept of what mobile devices should be like with regards to performance and versatility. While iOS and Android are fine for entertainment, there’s simply nothing that can compare with the level of productivity and the flexibility that Windows 8 offers – it leaves iOS and Android in the dust.

As John Casaretto points out in an earlier article, Windows is the only true productivity tool around, as its the one platform that can run Microsoft Office – and Office is and will always be the choice productivity suite for enterprise, no matter how hard Google tries to change that. But it’s more than just Office. Just as important for the enterprise, it has to have its apps, and once again Windows 8 is the only platform to cut the mustard. Front-end applications like SAP, HANA, Oracle ERP, vertical applications for patient management, and even tools like Photoshop – by and large, these things just aren’t available on iOS or Android, and if they are they’re vastly inferior, scaled down versions.

If Microsoft Forces Change, It’ll Be Easy

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Simply put, Windows 8 is a very big deal; the only problem is that few people know it, and that’s what Microsoft needs to change. But what can it do to make people realize what they’re missing?

The solution is actually so blatantly obvious, it’s staring them in the face. The single biggest hurdle to user adoption isn’t the negative reviews or the fact that people “don’t want Windows 8.”  The enterprise has trusted Microsoft for years, and it knows it can be relied upon to build superior products. What’s holding things back is that businesses just don’t feel they can afford to adopt Windows 8 just yet – most are happy enough with Windows 7 anyway, and upgrading is just too big an investment for many companies right now.

So what can Microsoft do to change this? It’s simple – stop selling Windows 8 and give it away, free of charge, for 12 months, with no obligation to buy afterwards. Let people judge for themselves what they’re missing – hell, why even give people a choice – why not FORCE Windows 8 on everyone with an automatic update, free of charge for 12 months, with the option to downgrade if they don’t like it?

Giving away Windows for free would be a totally radical move – one that would mean Microsoft having to rethink its entire pricing strategy perhaps – but right now that is precisely the kind of move it needs to make.

It needs people to see how good Windows 8 really is, and people just aren’t going to do that off their own backs. But if people are forced to see it – and they will, if pushed, if there is no alternative – Microsoft simply cannot lose. It might lose a year’s worth of sales, but the long-term gains are unimaginable. Windows 8 is the real deal, people will be locked in after one year, they’ll rush out to buy touchscreen devices to make the experience even better, and it’s not so expensive that they won’t want to pay for it once the free period is up – all it takes is a quick glimpse into the future and there’ll be no turning back.