14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft recently launched its own feedback service with the help of UserVoice, and although the company expected to receive suggestions mostly focused on Windows, one unexpected request is quickly getting votes from registered members.
At this point, the top request has more than 25,000 votes and asks the company “to give the people of Iran access to the Microsoft store.”
In other words, Microsoft is urged to make its products available in Iran, a country that’s banned from economic, trade, scientific, and military businesses with US companies because of imposed sanctions.
The US sanctions against Iran were first imposed during the ‘80s, but last year, the United States House of Representatives voted in favor of tougher sanctions, which is a sign that the bans won’t be removed in the coming years.
Microsoft products already in the country
Despite the sanctions, most Microsoft products are already available in the country via unofficial channels, so it’s no surprise that local consumers are already running Windows 8 or using a Surface tablet for their daily tasks.
While buying a Surface is easy when you travel in the United States or any other country where retailers are already selling Microsoft’s products, there’s no doubt that Windows is much easier to obtain in Iran through the Internet.
The problem, however, is that many local users are actually running pirated copies of Windows, so launching its products in the country would be a win-win situation: customers could purchase legitimate Windows licenses, while Microsoft would reduce piracy and sell more products.
Windows is obviously number 1 in Iran
Statistics provided by market researchers across the world indicate that despite the bans, Windows is still number one in the country on the desktop, with a market share that’s really impossible to beat by any other platform out there.
StatCounter data shows that, in September, Windows 7 was installed on 60.78 percent of the desktop computers, followed by Windows XP with 21.8 percent. Windows 8 came next with 7.63 percent, while Windows 8.1 was a little behind with 6.9 percent.
Overall, Windows had a market share in Iran of 97.11 percent, which does nothing more than to emphasize that no other OS version can compete for the supremacy of the desktop business in the country.
Of course, the biggest question is just how many of these copies of Windows are actually legitimate or not, as Microsoft clearly needs to tackle the high level of piracy as soon as possible.
Update: starting with May 2013, the United States relaxed some of the restrictions against Iran, so tech companies can sell their products in the country. Apple is already doing it, selling Macs and iPhones to local buyers, but the fruity-named company is also providing access to local users to its App Store.
Microsoft, on the other hand, is yet to make a decision, so the more votes, the bigger the chances for the company to open its stores to Iranians.