Microsoft has told Computing that enterprise users will see "a marked difference" in the Windows 8.1 patch's effects on productivity.
Speaking at Microsoft's Build 2013 conference in San Francisco today, the operating system's principal program manager lead, Chaitanya Sareen, said: "I know we have thought quite a lot about how we can give enterprise users more administration and control, and the most popular questions in that area come from the Start screen".
Further reading Microsoft Build 2013: Internet Explorer 11 places HTML 5 at the forefront Microsoft Build 2013: Future of devices lies in an “outpouring” of post-Surface ‘two in one’ touch notebooks, says Ballmer Microsoft Build 2013: 'We need to do a better job of telling the world' about Windows 8 as HTML 5 platform, says Microsoft
Sareen described how Microsoft has "added a whole bunch of features to let enterprises have much better control over that Start screen layout".
"That was the number one ask, and it was a careful balance of asking for the world, but we worked very closely with people out in the field to prioritise what were the important ones. You'll see a marked difference," said Sareen.
A spokesperson from a Microsoft PR company bolstered Sareen's claims by adding: "Running BYOD in a controlled and managed way was also a big factor. So unlike previous versions of Windows where it was essentially a forklift of bringing in all kinds of other operating systems, it's more a per-device thing now."
Sareen also stated that "in the enterprise you'll want to run a very specific app, a very familiar experience, and Windows 8.1 will be able to do that."
During a limited demonstration and some hands-on time, Computing has so far discovered that the Start menu is customisable to a relatively effective extent.
The reinstated Start button can be set to display Windows 8.1's raw, iOS-style complete apps list, the contents of which can be displayed by date installed, most used or under specific categories (finance, productivity, games etc. in accordance with their cataloguing in the Windows Store).
For an even more hardcore approach, the Start menu can be arranged to make the Modern interface reflect the classic menu layout, with Character Map, calculator and other staples appearing nearer the front.
Sareen also explained how Microsoft has worked on making Windows 8.1 friendlier for those coming to it from a non-touch background, though emphasised that Windows 8 in itself had "already seen a lot of success there"
"Once you teach someone the mouse, they get it. It's not a 20 page manual. There is some class of people who need a little more education, but I don't want to dismiss the large percentage of people who get it."
Despite offering the statistic that 90 per cent of new users understood Windows 8's ‘charms' system within mere days, Sareen revealed that Windows 8.1 ships with a "placeholder tile for help and tips, like "the glove compartment manual"'.
A more integrated use of Microsoft's cloud storage platform Skydrive could also prove useful for backing up critical files, and the more embedded nature of Bing search into the OS - which grabs search data from many different web sources - while proving that searching "enterprise network servers" doesn't come up as aesthetically pleasing as "Beyoncé", will nevertheless present a more rounded experience for a business user.
While it seems Windows 8.1 might make an easier transition to specifc productivity duties in the enterprise in terms of its new user interfaces, the BYOD-related claims will need further investigation in a more thorough hands-on test, to be conducted in coming weeks.
Have any new features in Windows 8.1 changed your mind about the platform's applicability to your enterprise use? Please comment below.
