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Don't skip Vista, Forrester study says

Migrations should start sooner rather than later, research firm says
By John Fontana , Network World , 04/17/2008
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Companies should think twice about skipping Windows Vista and should get started sooner rather than later on updating their client desktops to the latest Microsoft operating system, according to an independent report issued by Forrester Research.

The report, "Building the Business Case for Windows Vista," says there are a number of reasons to upgrade now, even if avoiding Vista to wait for Windows 7 may seem like a viable option. The company has issued a second report, "Lessons Learned from Early Adopters of Windows Vista," to show how some users have handled migrations.

Forrester lays out five reasons companies should begin upgrading soon, including the fact that there are few viable alternatives, given the depth of Windows penetration in the enterprise. The research firm says its hardware surveys show Windows is the operating system found on 99% of PCs in North America and Europe. In addition, Windows is the operating system on 97% of PCs in small businesses, Forrester says.

Benjamin Gray, author of the report, notes that while Apple's Mac OS and Linux  are enjoying renewed visibility, switching thousands of users from Windows to another platform is not a workable solution for the majority of companies. In addition, users need to stay current on Microsoft and independent-software-vendor (ISV) support of Windows operating systems, he says.

Forrester notes the expiration milestones for extended support and security patches on Windows 2000 and XP, and the fact that Windows 7 isn't expected to ship until 2010 at the earliest, as reasons users should keep their desktop operating system fresh. 

Two other reasons for a prompt migration to Vista are the probable unavailability of Windows XP after June 30, 2008, and uncertainty around Windows 7. Microsoft has extended the deadline once for XP already, and Forrester predicts it will not happen again. In addition, the report says uncertainty around the availability and feature set of Windows 7 is a red flag for those looking to skip Vista.

Finally, the report says that Vista has valuable features and functions, such as security and user enhancements, citing the opinions of early adopters Forrester surveyed. The firm says these early adopters also reported on their overall migration experience, confirming that compatibility issues are still their No. 1 headache. Nevertheless, they reported they found workarounds for most of their issues, according to the survey.

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Comments (14)
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Right . . .By Anonymous on April 21, 2008, 1:17 pmI have not used Vista yet all the IT companions i have say do not stick to XP and/or Ubuntu so I'll take their advice and maybe save myself some headaches

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Here I come Ubuntu! Vista is such a POS!By Anonymous on April 21, 2008, 12:20 pmHere I come Ubuntu! Vista is such a POS!

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very misleadingBy Anonymous on April 21, 2008, 11:09 amNice try. Vista SP1 fixes these issues.

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What about mobile PCs?By raggedy on April 21, 2008, 4:18 amSo the end of XP is nigh, despite the sudden interest of computers like the ASUS EEE PC which won't run Vista (it may crawl or walk)? I won't buy something that...

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April's foolsBy Anonymous on April 21, 2008, 1:46 amThis is a joke right? Vista is like buying a Dodge Ram pickup outfitted with a Hyundai engine, not that a Hyundai engine is bad, but it won’t be able to haul that...

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