World leading IT company, Microsoft, has launched its most anticipated operating system, the Windows 8 in Nigeria, Africa’s second largest economy, following a similar launch in South Africa few weeks back.

The launch which took place at the Microsoft Open Door 2012 event in Lagos, had in attendance a huge number of excited Nigerian developers and IT professionals eager for the latest technologies from the maker of the windows 95.

According to Emmanuel Onyeje, GM Microsoft West Africa, the latest product offers more than an upgrade on the speed and efficiency of the Windows 7, to giving users a whole new amazing experience.

“Every aspect of Windows has been completely redesigned from chipsets to user interface,” he quipped.

The Windows 8 is packed with cloud computing support; touch screen features that enable users unlock the system by stroking pictures in predetermined order, instead of typing passwords; the support to operate on all forms of systems from the PC to the smartphone, including iOS and Andriod devices; a Windows Store that has a reach of 231 countries and deeply localised content.

At the event, Kevin Conolly,Windows Business Group Manager, Microsoft Africa called on indigenous app makers to develop more content on the store which accepts payments from Visa and Mastercards issued from Nigerian banks. Already, two of Nigerian banks – Diamond Bank and First Bank – have a downloadable app on the Microsoft store.

Conolly also indicated that over 50 percent of all the companies in Africa run on the Windows 7 operating system and urged enterprises to adopt the cloud-enabled Windows 8. According to him, the Windows 7 which was launched in October 2009, is the all-time highest selling operating system. The OS has sold 690 million licenses till date; more volumes than all iPhones and iPads ever sold.

Windows 8 comes in 3 versions – Windows 8 for regular users, Windows 8 Pro for Enterprise solutions, and Windows RT Devices for mobile devices.