Microsoft aims to keep the PC relevant with Windows 10

The official release of Windows 10 is still about six months away, as far as anyone can tell, but it's already shaping up to be one of the most significant events of 2015, at least as far as the IT industry calendar goes.
There are many reasons why this is the case, not least because many industry experts had started openly to question whether Windows could still be relevant in the so-called 'post-PC' era, but also because of the wrong turn that Microsoft seemed to have taken right at the start of the process that led to Windows 8.
But more than two years have passed since Windows 8 was released, and a lot of things have changed since then.
Industry watchers such as Gartner now predict that demand for tablets may have peaked, while common sense has finally led many to realise that a big screen, a keyboard and a mouse are still the best way of interacting with the kind of business applications that most workers use on a daily basis.
For the traditional Windows user base, the Windows 10 reboot is finally starting to look like an interesting proposition, one that many can now foresee themselves upgrading to, even if they may not be in any particular hurry to ditch Windows 7 at the moment.
The user interface plays a major part in this, as Windows 10 puts more emphasis on the traditional desktop and Start menu rather than the 'Metro-style' user interface of Windows 8.
But there is more going on behind the scenes than a cosmetic makeover, which is why Microsoft opted for the Windows 10 label instead of Windows 9.
Those with an eye on Microsoft's activities will have noted that the firm is making more and more use of cloud-based services behind many of its products, and that includes Windows.
Starting in Windows 8.1, users were able to synchronise files to a OneDrive online storage account, making them available across any device they signed into.
With Windows 10, Microsoft is starting to pull its disparate platforms closer together as part of the 'one Windows' strategy.
This doesn't mean there will be a single version of Windows, but that Microsoft is working towards a unified developer platform that should allow the creation of applications that can run across Windows Phones, desktops, laptops and tablets.
Microsoft has already said that there will not be a single version of Windows, nor even a single user interface; the Continuum feature of Windows 10 will dynamically adapt the user interface based on whether the system has a keyboard and mouse attached or is running as a slate-mode tablet with touch-screen input, for example.
However, taken together, these strands deliver a picture of a Windows platform that is adapting to meet the demands of a changing workplace, one where employees are typically relying on more than a single device to get their job done.
If Microsoft can successfully pull all these parts together, organisations will be able to provide workers with the ability to access the applications and data they need across a broad range of devices, allowing them to choose the device that best suits them at that particular moment, and to access company resources from almost any location.
And with tools such as the Office apps available for iPad and coming to Android, this doesn't necessarily mean restricting yourself to a Microsoft device.
For enterprises struggling with the rapidly changing IT landscape, the technologies coming as part of the Windows 10 wave could thus see the old stalwart become more relevant, not less.
But this depends on whether Microsoft can deliver on everything it has promised. We shall have to wait and see.