There's a reason to celebrate over at Redmond: Microsoft has just reached the 350-million milestone in its journey to get 1 billion users onto the Windows 10 platform by 2018.
The figure is higher than the 333 million target for each year, which is quite an achievement, especially since the latest OS is turning just a year old next month.
The software company has won the hearts of 50 million additional customers since the most previous update on user statistics on May 5.
"We'd like to say a special thank you to each of you who have upgraded to Windows 10," says Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft's corporate VP for the Windows and Devices Group.
This "special thank you" will be marked by an equally special anniversary update to be released on Aug. 2, which packs in innovative tools for today's classroom, better gaming experiences and connectivity for Xbox enthusiasts, and more robust security features.
The upgrade also includes a "more accessible and more power-efficient" Edge browser and enhancements to the digital assistant Cortana.
One of the biggest surprises from Microsoft's loot bag, however, is Windows Ink, a new functionality that lets users scribble on documents by using a special pen.
The Windows 10 anniversary update carries innovations that are bound to be enjoyed by enterprises and consumers alike.
Beyond building a larger user base, Microsoft knows customer satisfaction and engagement are vital to getting more people to adopt Windows 10, considering how complaints of automatic updates have recently cast the company in a bad light.
Still, the first adopters have clocked in 135 billion hours of use since the debut of the OS — a strong indication that it has been received well by users.
Terry Myerson, Microsoft EVP, says 96 percent of the company's enterprise customers are now piloting Windows 10.
"This is the fastest adoption of any Windows in history, and we're really excited about that," Myerson tells industry expert Paul Thurrott.
The adoption rate among consumers, however, could slow once the free upgrade offer expires on July 29, the exact date of Windows 10's anniversary. The option is believed to have propelled the fast and wide-scale adoption of the latest OS.
The numbers may continue to be pulled up by enterprise customers, though.
Market research group Gartner predicts that half of enterprises is set to deploy the new software by January 2017.
"For enterprises, we expect that implementation will be significantly more rapid than that seen with Windows 7," explains Steve Kleynhans, Gartner's research vice president.
Windows 10 is on track to become the most widely installed iteration of Windows ever, the research group says.
