Seven Things You Need to Know to Prepare for Windows 7 (
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NEWS ANALYSIS: Enterprises shouldn't wait on making preparations for Windows 7, especially if they're in the majority running Windows XP. eWEEK identifies seven factors IT organizations should consider as they mull over when to deploy Windows 7. Windows 7 is not a choice, but an inevitable destination for most enterprises, and what you do now will determine how easy or arduous the path will be.Microsoft
almost certainly will ship Windows 7 in 2009, and the release candidate is
expected no later than May 30. The timing is bad for many enterprises because
of the economy's impact on IT spending. But if your organization is running
Windows XPand the majority of organizations aremigration is inevitable.
Mainstream Windows XP support ended on April 14. The question is, What does
your organization need to know to prepare for Windows 7?
According to a Dimensional
Research report commissioned by Kace Networks, only 17 percent of
enterprises plan to upgrade to Windows 7 within 12 months. Of the 1,142 IT
professionals surveyed, 43 percent cited the economy as a factor delaying
deployments. Interestingly, 17 percent of those surveyed are running Windows 7
Beta 1 and the same number are planning first-year upgrades. The number
planning Windows 7 deployments jumps to 59 percent within two years.
1. Most enterprises will need
Software Assurance. If your organization doesn't have an Enterprise
Agreement or Software Assurance applied to Select or Open agreements, Microsoft
will require annuity licensing upgrade protection to get new deployment tools
or Windows 7 Enterprise or both. Vista carried the same
requirement, but it had little impact since so few businesses upgraded from XP
or Windows 2000. According to a Forrester Research report
published April 14, less than 10 percent of European and North American
businesses have deployed Vista; 71 percent have XP
installed. According to Dimensional Research, which released its report on April 13, 83 percent of IT
organizations will skip Vista and go right to Windows 7.
Startlingly, 53 percent of enterprises will do this to avoid Vista.
The Software Assurance requirement isn't for your benefit but for
Microsoft's. More than 80 percent of Windows sales come from new PCs. Microsoft
wants something more like Office or server software where annuity licensing
accounts for about 40 percent and 65 percent of sales respectively. That's money
in the bank to Microsoft, because businesses pay up front, annually, under two-
or three-year commitments29 percent of desktop software pricing and 25 percent
for server software.
Businesses could avoid the Software Assurance requirement by deploying Windows
7 Business instead of Enterprise,
but they would still need coverage to get Microsoft deployment tools.
2. Application compatibility will be
better with Windows 7, but not necessarily great. Many enterprises found
that Vista broke their existing applications or that
third-party hardware drivers were not available. Windows 7 won't inflict as
much pain on enterprises, if for no other reason than they got it with Vista.
Microsoft has made big compatibility promises about Windows 7, but with a
catch. Applications certified for Vista should be nearly
universally compatible with Windows 7. Most XP applications broken by Vista
likely will be broken by Windows 7.
The Dimensional Research survey found software compatibility to be IT
decision makers' top concern about Windows 7chosen by about 88 percent. Since
most organizations will migrate from XP, many software compatibility problems
observed with Vista will continue with Windows 7. The
majority of application compatibility problems trace back to security infrastructure
changes instituted in Vista, and they will carry forward
to Windows 7.
Enterprises should continue qualifying applications for Vista
as they prepare for Windows 7's release. But IT organizations shouldn't buy
into Microsoft's assurances of improved compatibility. That said, Microsoft has
greatly improved the "Compatibility" function available from any
application's "Properties" tab. While clunky in Vista,
based on eWEEK testing, the feature works surprisingly well in Windows 7.
In the aforementioned Forrester Research report, analyst Benjamin Gray
recommended, "Firms that have begun
their Windows Vista deployments should continue their enterprisewide rollouts
and only revisit whether to transition these deployments to Windows 7 after its
release." He emphasized: "These organizations will be in a much
better position to move to Windows 7 sooner after its release than Windows XP
shops because their applications and hardware will remain compatible."
| | Reader Comments: 7 Things You Need to Know to Prepare for Windows 7 | | >>> Post your comment now!
| | A user comment on this articleAmen to that. I've found XP Pro w/ SP2 to be solid, reliable, and predictable. And let's not forget that software applications are written, they... Posted At: 04-23-09 By: Anonymous | | | | | | A user comment on this articleCompatibility and security are not mutually exclusive. You can have them both. Microsoft dabbled in this with Registry virtualization in Vista. UNIX... Posted At: 04-21-09 By: Paul | | | | | | Compatability, Security, chose one.With all of the complaining about secutily in MS oeprating systems, MS finally started to listen to its customers. You cannot be secure as UNIX and... Posted At: 04-17-09 By: Anonymous | | | | | | A user comment on this article'It's not a choice, but inevitable destination for most enterprises'
This sums up the whole problem with this article and MS. Posted At: 04-17-09 By: Anonymous | | | | | | It's Compatibility StupidI note that the article mentions that lack of compatiblilty seems to have been the downfall of Vista. Despite this Windows 7 has major compatibilty... Posted At: 04-17-09 By: bdudley | | | | | | Time to buy a MacSounds like it's all the more reason to buy a Mac that will dual-boot to Mac OS and "something". Posted At: 04-17-09 By: qudrcps | | | | | | Upgrade PainI hope Office 97 works on Windows 7, my clients still use it for lightweight needs and the retail product licensing transfers from PC to PC.... Posted At: 04-16-09 By: Controller | | | | | | >>> Post your comment now! | | | | | |
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