ICTworks by Inveneo

Microsoft has introduced the Windows 7 operating system, and it seems to be a worthy replacement for Windows XP, which is EoL on October 22.

Windows 7 has a much greater cost.

Microsoft has ended its low-cost operating system deals - XP could be had for just $3 per license. Now, Microsoft is charging much more per license for OEM's to install Win7 on new PC's. In addition, Microsoft recommends 2GB RAM for optimal performance.

PC prices are increasing - unless you use Linux

The result of the price increase by Microsoft and the RAM increase, is that all Win7 computers will be around $100 more expensive than their XP predecessors. These price increases are being experienced by everyone in the IT field - from giants like HP, down to specialized firms like Inveneo.

For ICT entrepreneurs, there are three choices to adapt to this change:

1. Increase your prices to your clients - keep your current margin and add it to the new, higher Windows 7 prices
2. Reduce your margin - raise your prices, but lower your margin and look to increase sales to maintain profitability
3. Switch to Linux - Ubuntu is still free, and with a $100 price premium on Win7, you may find clients willing to consider alternatives

At Inveneo, we're employing all 3 options above to adapt this change - on some products, we're increasing prices, on others we are cutting margins and hoping to increase volume, and we're encouraging Linux whenever clients balk at the new prices.

What would open up software sales across Africa? Jonathan Gosier makes the case that it would be 3 things - ePayments, work across phones, and a entire change in the way Africans looked at software purchasing.

In What’s the Business case for an African App Store? he argues that Africans are too used to pirating software to ever pay for it,unless its a government or big corporation.

I respectfully disagree. I say that the lack of an easy payment model is the problem. Just what the original Apple App Store fixed. App stores were around long before the Apple store, but they were disorganized and buying software from them was a pain.

The App Store, by making purchases easy, took away barriers. I could now buy a $1 code and just as amazingly, install it with a single button. That's the real revolution.

So to transfer this innovation to Africa, its not about changing the culture of software sales, but making it easy to buy software to being with. ePyaments is the largest barrier. Next is making apps one-click installs. Neither is easy, but both are less difficult than changing a culture - which thankfully need not be changed to begin with.