Analyst firm IDC suggests that a major economic upturn could spur in the near future and North Americans will benefit in large part from the sales of Windows 7. The report even suggests that Microsoft's latest operating system has the potential to save us from the current recession all on its own.

IDC estimates that Microsoft will sell about 177 million copies of Windows 7 all together, with 50 million of those sales coming from the European market.

Windows 7 Stimulus Ripple Effect

How will this help the rest of us?

Looking at a sales snapshot from October 2009 (the expected release date of the new OS) until the end of 2010, every dollar made by Microsoft will translate into $18.52 in revenue accumulated by the IT sector. If these figures hold true, the North American economy can soon afford to shell out an additional $320 billion in goods and services thanks to Windows 7. (Source: itpro.co.uk)

In regards to the European market, every euro made by Microsoft will translate into 19 euros in revenue accumulated by the EU IT sector.

The revenue figures listed above pertain to all aspects of Windows 7, including training, installation, increased hardware sales and other parts of the IT sector that are connected to software.

Earlier Negative Outlook "Untrue"

It is interesting to hear such optimism surrounding Windows 7 after an earlier survey had suggested that some businesses would hold off on upgrading to Windows 7 to save money.

According to IDC, nothing could be farther from the truth. At the end of 2010, it is estimated that seven million people in the IT industry all across the world will be using Windows 7, with 1.5 million in Europe. That's a fifth of the entire IT workforce. (Source: itpro.co.uk)

It is expected that Windows 7 could also lead to the creation of 300,000 new jobs in client operating systems all on its own.

If these predictions are valid, Windows 7 could have more to offer us than software alone.