Corporate world not so eager to jump in to Windows 7 yet

IT departments are long known for not being on top of and grasping the latest in technology. This fact is no surprise. They like to take the careful and more reserved approach, instead waiting months to years before upgrading hundreds of computers’ operating systems as the effects of incompatibilities can be extremely costly and time consuming to fix bring production to a standstill and even putting the company out of business as a result of the shut down. Now of course, a company shutting down because of an OS upgrade failure is an extreme failure. (Perhaps we would have seen more of this if Vista had been more widely adopted). So how long will big businesses wait to make the move to 7?

Moving to Vista would have been a bitter/sweet deal for companies now looking to move to Windows 7 as they would have gotten the hardest part (program incompatibilities and other glitches) mostly out of the way with the Vista –> Windows 7 upgrade much smoother than the former. However many companies and IT companies either didn’t have the money, want to spend the money, or have the man power or drive to figure out solutions to all of the issues Vista would have caused.

With all of the hype surrounding 7 and how much lighter, faster, and more secure it is should have IT departments perking their ears up as “lighter, faster, and more secure” are always big pluses. IT departments love when computers work as it makes their jobs much easier and enjoyable. When it doesn’t they feel like bashing their head against a wall as they upgrade 50 computers with a new version of software. Granted their are ways to push these updates out automatically and save vast amounts of time. However individual problems are sure to crop up with major software changes requiring special attention devoted to each computer and problem. Whether by actually physically at the problem or remoting to the problem, this individual approach takes time and money. Time and money that businesses and IT departments do not want to spend.

So how many companies are looking with open eyes at the latest OS to come from Redmond? A survey by Information Week highlights just how standoffish the corporate world has become since the Vista scare as a whopping 83% of 1,100 IT professional surveyed stated that them and the company they work for would wait at least 12 months before dipping their toe in the Windows 7 pool. 12 months! Further illustrating the issue is an excerpt from that survey below:

“Less than half of the IT pros surveyed, 42%, said their organizations planned to deploy Windows 7 within 12 to 24 months of release. 24% said they would wait 24 to 36 months, and 17% said they would wait more than 36 months to migrate to Windows 7.”

With around 40% of Microsoft’s income coming from Windows OS sales they better find away to get those 83% of holdouts more enthused and assured that their upgrade from XP to Windows 7 is as seamless and smooth as possible if they still want to remain on top of the software world.

Speaking of XP to Windows 7 upgrades, such an upgrade will bring many headaches that are sure to test IT workers’ skill, mental strength, and physical strength as I’m sure many nights and weekends will be spent trying to find solutions to widespread incompatibilities. But even with the time and money that such a monumental undertaking will require, no matter how much money or time you want to save, you can’t run an operating system such as XP indefinitely. While many people still run Windows 2000 and some even Windows ‘98, those are grossly outdated computers. And as far as security is concerned not anywhere as secure as a modern computer running Windows 7.

While Windows 7 will cause corporations many headaches, in the end the added benefits, features, and security that it brings will be better for companies and businesses in the long run. Are you an IT manager or president? Is your company planning to upgrade to Windows 7 at launch…within 12 months….24 months….ever? Leave a comment below.