Windows 2000 remains the dominant desktop operating system in corporate IT, but it could be overtaken by the end of the year as larger organizations update their PC inventory, according to a new report by AssetMetrix Research Labs.
AssetMetrix released a report Tuesday showing that Windows 2000 installations have declined by only four percentage points to 48 percent of existing installations in the first quarter of 2005, down from 52 percent in the fourth quarter of 2003. AssetMetrix Research Labs is the technology and market research arm of AssetMetrix Inc. of Ottawa, Ontario, which provides IT asset management services.
Windows 2000 is "at the inflection point" of being replaced by Windows XP as large corporations upgrade their PC inventory, and as the introduction of the Longhorn version of Windows approaches in late 2006, according to the AssetMetrix report.