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Speaking at the Gartner Emerging Trends conference, analysts claimed that it takes far too long for Microsoft to push new versions of Windows out the door, and even when it does they fail to provide enough innovation.

Nicely warmed up, the analysts then argued that the various iterations of the operating systems have too many compatibility issues between releases, and that it doesn't matter because the company is being out innovated by other manufacturers.

Getting into their stride, they then suggested the massive amount of hardware resources required by the operating system was limiting its appeal, as

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was a preoccupation with web-based applications and help features.

Apparently, this means Windows will be twiddling its thumbs come 2011, when the majority of applications will be OS-agnostic and not dependent on the Microsoft's finest to run.

It's doubtful Microsoft will be particularly perturbed by this news, especially after recording a 79% rise in quarterly profits in January.

"Microsoft disagrees with Gartner on the state of Windows," says a spokesperson. "Unfortunately much of the data presented was based on relatively small sampling of Gartner conference attendees and doesn't align with some of the more rigorous research which shows that backward compatibility is an important priority for many of our customers."

"It's contradictory that Gartner indicates backwards compatibility keeps customers from migrating to a new operating system, then suggests a radical reworking of Windows that would break backward compatibility."

So there you have it. What do you think, is Microsoft in trouble? Let us know on our forums.