A report out Tuesday morning says the search engine giant began phasing out Microsoft’s operating system, the wildly-popular Windows, at the Googleplex in Mountain View, Calif., and in the company’s offices around the globe.

For now, it appears unlikely that Google’s reported move to ditch Windows would put a dent in Microsoft’s dominance over the sector. As of May, Windows accounts for 91.28% of market share world-wide, Mac OS is second at 5.27%, and in third place is Linux with 1.13%, according to Net Applications.

On the corporate side, it’s unlikely that companies will do away with years (if not decades) of Windows purchasing and IT staff training to pump money into an alternative operating system, says Kurt Scherf, vice president and principal analyst at Parks Associates. There’s also the question of just how safe the other operating systems, like Mac OS and Linux, are from hackers and other security breaches. Both Scherf and Kagan say that it’s likely Windows has been vulnerable to more security threats because it’s the dominant player in the OS sector -- incentive enough for hackers to attack it as opposed to its competitors.

From the article, "If Google Scraps Windows, Should You?" by AnnaMaria Andriotis

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