Dell became the latest Microsoft ecosystem partner to promote Windows 7 as an improvement over Vista and a likely spark for a massive tech refresh in 2010, as Microsoft prepares to launch its new operating system on Oct. 22. Companies such as Dell and Intel could see their own revenues boosted substantially if Windows 7 proves a hit.As Microsoft heads into the launch of Windows 7 on Oct. 22, its ecosystem partners have been
busy suggesting that the new operating system will kindle a substantial tech
refresh among both consumers and the enterprise.
"Windows 7 is the best quality product launch that Microsoft
has had in a very long time," Stephen Schuckenbrock, Dells
president for large enterprise, told Reuters on Oct. 19. When you consider that
Vista was a bust, Windows 7 is a capability upgrade on a scale that has really
never been seen before."
Schuckenbrock went on to suggest that the enterprise
would begin their tech refresh in mid-2010. Dell and Microsoft, of course, have
an extensive partnership within the enterprise, with Dell
recently integrating its OpenManage systems management offerings with
Microsofts System Center suite in a unified IT infrastructure package for
businesses.
Over the course of the summer, it was Intel that took pole
position as Microsofts Windows 7 cheerleader, hosting press conferences in
which executives from both
companies extolled the operating systems processor speed and battery life as
superior to that of Windows Vista.
Click here for more information on how Windows 7 compares to Vista.
During a September presentation in San Francisco, Intel and
Microsoft representatives did a side-by-side comparison of two identically
configured ThinkPad T400 notebooks running Vista and Windows 7. The machine
running Windows 7, the companies claimed, experienced 20 percent longer battery
life due to what Microsoft calls "timer coalescing," which increases the average
processor idle period.
Other tests during that presentation showed that Windows 7
operated faster than Vista. Executives cautioned, though, that individual device
configuration ultimately decides the level of performance
improvement.
In July, Intel Chief Sales and Marketing Officer Sean Maloney
told the media at the Intel
Technology Summit that Windows 7 would be adopted more quickly throughout
the enterprise than Vista, saying that, "We think it makes overwhelming sense if
you have a 3-year-old PC to replace the thing, for security violations, virus,
power consumption, etc. etc. etc."
Intel famously refused to deploy Vista in 2008. However, a
substantial tech refresh by businesses, driven by Windows 7, would directly
benefit the companys revenues. Intel was quick to declare earlier this summer
that it would begin using Windows 7 internally.
In what could be a predictor of future good news for
Microsoft, analyst reports indicate that the IT industry will indeed undergo a
tech refresh in 2010, as the economy begins to modestly improve.
During an Oct. 19 presentation at the Gartner
Symposium/ITExpo 2009 in Orlando, Fla., analysts
from Gartner suggested that the IT industry would experience a 3.3 percent
increase in spending in 2010. However, despite that uptick, the industry
will not see revenues reach 2008 levels until 2012.
The next year "is about balancing the focus on cost, risk
and growth," Gartner analyst Peter Sondergaard said during the event. "For more
than 50 percent of CIOs, the IT budget will be 0 percent or less in growth
terms. It will only slowly improve in 2011."
While a tech refresh would be an unmitigated good for
Microsoft, a slower rate of Windows 7 adoption may have consequences for their
revenue stream, which has been gradually declining throughout 2009. Microsoft
will announce its earnings from the fourth fiscal quarter on Oct. 23, the day
after the launch of Windows 7.