Pushing all the right buttons

If there’s one thing certain to create a storm online among techies – it’s the launch of a new version of Windows. Version 8 is no different.

Rumoured for full release in October, Windows 8 is available already in a ‘consumer preview’ flavour that’s been sampled over the past six weeks. You can try it yourself by downloading it here.

One big difference is the introduction of a Metro-style interface designed for touchscreens, like you’d see on a phone or the Xbox 360 games console. But will it be intuitive?

Perhaps, ultimately, it will loved by millions. But problems may exist in the short term.

“The next Windows version looks to be a steep learning curve for most users,” warns The Inquirer, which added that "the change is likely to be a jarring experience."

And, underlining the point, The Guardian ran a feature where one tech journalist unleashed his father on the operating system – with a reaction of bafflement. You can see the video here, though it’s excruciating to watch.

But are enterprise applications any easier – or everyday business users somehow far quicker to grasp the plot?

Not so, according to research. Some months back, IDC published a white paper called Intuitive Enterprise Applications Improve Business Performance.

IDC surveyed 300 enterprise application buyers in Scandinavia and put some of the key findings in the public domain. The findings were revealing:

• Almost 40% of those asked found that enterprise applications were hard to use
  
  
• Respondents were looking for web-like usability and strong search capabilities
  
  
• They also said that time was primarily wasted transferring data between applications and looking for information.
  

These findings could prompt useful questions for anyone to ask when choosing a purchase-to-pay (P2P) solution. For example:

• Is the new system as easy to use as Tesco.com or Amazon? If it is, less time will be needed training users. And if users embrace the system quickly, then the business benefits will come through faster.
  
  
• How does it handle data? Can you find what you need quickly? Is it a total solution? And if there are necessary interfaces with other systems, are they seamless?
  

The best way to find reliable answers is to ask for reference sites and check with existing users what they think …