LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Microsoft Corp. MSFT, -1.04% admits the failure of its Windows 8 operating system and is preparing to change key elements this year, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday. The tech firm's head of marketing and finance, Tami Reller, said in an interview with the newspaper that "key aspects" of the operating system will be changed when Microsoft reveals an updated version of the operating system later this year. Analysts compared the U-turn to Coca-Cola Co.'s KO, -0.45% New Coke fiasco almost 30 years ago, the report said. Read more: Can Microsoft really make a U-turn on Windows 8?Windows 8 was launched in October last year and was called a "bet-the-company" move, seen as a move to compete with Apple's iPad success.