Windows 7 user rollouts could come in pieces

Corporate users are more likely to move to Windows 7 on a piecemeal basis as they replace PCs rather than looking for big budget outlays to cover mass migration, says analyst Michael Cherry.

Cherry, the vice president of research for Windows at independent research firm Directions on Microsoft, says barring the current economic climate users would be casting an eye at Microsoft’s new operating system, available this fall after many bypassed Vista.

Slideshow: What we love/hate about Windows 7/Windows Server 2008 R2

“If all things were equal there would be pent up demand,” he said. “But I think organizations need to evaluate this and at the end of the day part of that evaluation will have to be stack ranking Windows 7 against other IT needs they have and deciding what is the best way to do this.”

He also said users should include evaluation of the numerous licensing options and early-bird discounts as part of their decision process. Those options include new downgrade rights and Software Assurance options for volume licensing customers that include access to other software like the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack.

Cherry Thursday also laid out during a telebriefing some of the feature and functional considerations that might tip companies toward evaluations and adoption of Windows 7.

Cherry, along with colleagues Paul DeGroot and Matt Rosoff, plan to offer an expansive enterprise look at Windows 7 in a report that will publish in September titled, “Windows 7: An OS for Businesses.”

Thursday, Cherry was bullish on Windows 7, saying it solves numerous issues that kept users away from Vista.
“Many organizations will find value in Windows 7,” said Cherry, who classifies the OS as an interim release because it does not have any architectural or foundational difference when compared to Vista. “That is actually a very, very good thing.”
Cherry says Windows 7 instead is the recovery from Vista’s stumble, improving application compatibility, driver support, and features such as User Account Control, BitLocker and power management.

“In general there has been some effort to trim down some of the operating paths and code paths and dependencies in the product and that should make it a better performing and more stable OS,” he said.