Windows 7 sparked surge in business demand for PCs

A senior Dell executive is bullish about a recovery in PC demand from businesses, saying the Oct. 22 release of Windows 7 sparked a surge in PC sales for the company.

This surge in PC sales led by the release of Windows was preceded by slowdown as customers put off plans to buy new computers. This helps explain why Dell's third-quarter revenue came in below analysts' expectations, said Steve Felice, president of Dell's business unit that's focused on small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), during a conference call with reporters on Friday.

"At the beginning of October, we saw demand decline as customers put off their decision to buy, to wait for Windows 7 to fully launch. As soon as Oct. 22 hit, both our consumer business and our SMB business had a very healthy increase in demand," Felice said.

Prior to the launch of Windows 7, Dell's direct sales in the Americas were running at about 80 percent of the company's expectations. However, once Microsoft released the new operating system, sales surged and that figure rose to 110 percent, he said.

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