What is the most-used PC operating system (OS) in Japanese corporations? If you guessed Windows 95, guess again. It's still Windows 3.1 by a significant margin. In fall 1996, the Japan Information System Users Association surveyed large Japanese firms (those with more than 1,000 employees and capitalization of at least JPY1 billion). Of the over 400 companies that responded, just over two-thirds said they were using PCs. (Which makes me wonder what the other third are using: mainframes and dumb terminals, or pen and paper?)

The survey found that Windows 95 has been installed in just 32% of the firms using PCs. Microsoft Windows 3.1 is still the preferred OS at 51% of large Japanese firms, and 8% are sticking with MS-DOS.

One reason for the slow migration to Win95 is hardware limitations. Japanese Win95 makes greater demands on the system than the English version, and many of the PCs in use in Japanese offices just don't measure up in terms of CPU speed and RAM. Acceptance of Win95 should grow as 386 and 486 models are replaced with Pentium and Pentium Pro machines.

If corporate PCs are a Microsoft domain, competition is close on the network. About three-fifths of the companies surveyed have installed local area networks (LANs). Of those, Microsoft Windows NT holds a modest lead as the most popular network operating system (NOS) at 35%, followed by one of the many Unix NOS implementations in 29% of companies, and Novell's NetWare in third with 25%.

With the release of version 4.0, however, Windows NT stands poised to come on strong and could capture a majority share within the year. Over 70% of the companies with LANs expressed their intent or willingness to install NT 4.0 as their corporate NOS.





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That's just JPY500 (or US$4.16) per issue. Remember, this special offer ends June 30, 1997. If you're not already signed up, send in your subscription card today! If you are a subscriber, you can take advantage of this special offer by extending your subscription now at this special rate; no need to wait for the "your subscription is ending" notices in the mail.

Just fill out the card inserted between pages 8 and 9 and mail or fax it today. Or, if a previous reader has already removed the card from this copy of the magazine, contact the appropriate subscription services office. You'll find the contact information on page 7.




WM. Auckerman


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