A report from the IDC last week stated that worldwide PC shipments plummeted 14 percent in the first quarter of the year but surprisingly, Microsoft’s Windows Division posted a revenue of $5.70 billion, a 23 percent increase from the same period last year.  That number included sales of its Surface tablets.  Now the question is, did the Surface tablets really saved Microsoft’s business?

In this morning’s Live NewsDesk Show with Kristin Feledy, SiliconANGLE contributing editor John Casaretto dropped by to give his Breaking Analysis on the Surface’s impact on Microsoft’s business.

Casaretto explains that Microsoft is complex and, though the IDC reports a decline in PC shipments, it should be considered that Microsoft includes all the tablets – its Surface tablets and the tablets sold by its partners.

As for saying that the Surface is Microsoft’s saviour, Casaretto stated that it’s too early to tell.

“I think it’s more of the latter, the wait and see. I think that this has always been about the long-term for Microsoft,” Casaretto stated.  “Certainly despite numbers being flat compared to the year before and in face of this precipitous decline that we see in the PC market, this appears to be some good news, some validation that they’re in the right market and things are happening. At the same time, part of that balance in those numbers comes from a large number of corporate buyers that are buying the enterprise edition of Windows 8.”

Support for Windows XP will cease in April of next year and Casaretto sees this fact as a huge bump for the company in the sense that it will help push more people upgrade to more recent versions of Windows such as Windows 7 or Windows 8.  It was also noted that enterprises will be upgrading Windows on their computers and Microsoft will be ready to assist them as it offers products and services such as Office 365 and Azure to make the transition easier.

To get Casaretto’s full analysis, check out the video below.