There were a couple things Windows did better regarding DOS when compared to OS/2: * Windows ran on a DOS file system, so data portability was transparent. *

There were a couple things Windows did better regarding DOS when compared to OS/2: * Windows ran on a DOS file system, so data portability was transparent. * You could easily quit Windows to get back to something close to whatever DOS environment you had before. * There was a runtime version of Windows that could be packaged with applications (Excel mainly, iirc) to make it possible to sell Windows apps to DOS users. * Windows had support for LIM/EMS (which users might already have to run large Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheets). None of this was a great way to run DOS apps under Windows, but it did make it easier to transition from DOS to Windows slowly, without a wholesale jump, and the risk that entailed. It was easier (and cheaper) for a DOS user to experiment with Windows than it was with OS/2. The lower barrier to entry is worth a lot.