Nearly 20 per cent (19 per cent) of CIOs have said that Windows 8’s ability to help them handle a remote workforce is persuading them to purchase the product. The study of 500 UK CIOs, commissioned by Virgin Media Business, also found that nearly half (41 per cent) of the respondents were looking at how well the software performed with a more dispersed and mobile team of workers before making a purchasing decision.

The consumerisation of IT and growing popularity of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) schemes are clear signals that CIOs are switching from a, ‘should I allow this?’ attitude to a ‘how do I enable this?’ mind-set, prompting them to look at software such as Windows 8 to help them achieve their goals. In fact, the research found that 62 per cent of IT chiefs are predicting that company supplied PCs will disappear from the office and already nearly one in five (16 per cent) offer BYOD schemes. 

Despite analysts predicting the vast majority of businesses will wait until 2014 to implement the new Microsoft operating system, over 40 million licenses were sold worldwide in the first month. Many more CIOs will be looking to suppliers, of both software and infrastructure, to help them switch from traditional business IT working practices to the new agile office model.

Tony Grace, chief operating officer, Virgin Media Business said: “CIOs have become the key innovators in businesses across the country. They no longer want to be known for being the barrier to new working practices. Instead they want to be hailed as the enablers of the future. As such, many CIOs recognise the need for an operating system that allows them to be as flexible as possible, which is why Windows 8 has received their attention.”

“But software is just one piece to the puzzle. CIOs will be looking for a blend of the right software and the right infrastructure that releases them from the barriers of traditional ways of working and gives them the platform to offer their staff exactly what they need. It’s up to technology vendors to identify these trends early on and develop solutions that can truly help the CIOs to do great things.”