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A girl I know wrote gullible on the ceiling of her school. She kept telling people that the word was written on the ceiling - Charlie Demerjian
Gartner pushes Windows 7 upgrades
GARTNER HAS PREPARED a list of factors that enterprises should consider before making the inevitable move to Windows 7.
Microsoft's latest operating system is due on 22 October, and Gartner described it as a significant improvement over Vista. The new software is architecturally similar, the analyst firm said, and should allow for a fairly smooth upgrade.
"Windows 7 has improvements in memory management to allow users a better experience than with Vista on PCs with similar or even slightly lower specifications," said Michael Silver, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner.
"It adds other features of interest to organisations, as well as to consumers. It is important for Microsoft to get off to a good start with Windows 7 to build momentum and put the problems of Vista behind it.
<"While organisations that skipped Windows 2000 and waited for XP had some problems spanning the gap, organisations that adopted Windows 2000 and tried to skip Windows XP, waiting for Vista, had a much harder time."
Fittingly, the five actions that Gartner believes companies should take before moving to Windows 7 include not skipping Windows 7. Organisations should also plan to be off Windows XP by the end of 2012.
"New releases of critical business software will require Windows 7 long before Microsoft support for Windows XP ends," said Steve Kleynhans, research vice president at Gartner.
"Organisations that get all of their users off Windows XP by the end of 2012 will avoid significant potential problems."
Supporting this is the suggestion that companies start working on migration projects now. Gartner explained that enterprises would typically need 12 to 18 months before deploying the new operating system.
Next on the list is not waiting for Windows 7 SP1 to begin testing and deployment, and Gartner stressed that firms should start work now.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly in these cash-strapped times, Gartner urged companies to budget carefully. The analyst firm said that migration costs could be $1,035 to $1,930 (£635 to £1,185) per user to move from Windows XP to Windows 7, and $339 to $510 (£208 to £313) per user to move from Windows Vista to Windows 7, depending on how the migration is approached.
However, Gartner does not expect to see sales of the new operating system having a dramatic effect on hardware sales.
"The Windows 7 release will generate renewed interest in hardware upgrades in consumers and small businesses following its release, but corporate demand is not expected to gain momentum until the end of 2010," said Charles Smulders, managing vice president at Gartner.
"An overdue PC hardware upgrade cycle, and the economic environment, will be as equally important as Windows 7 in determining final demand in 2010." µ
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$1000-$2000 to move from XP (which most businesses are still running) to Win7? Does that include having to upgrade hardware, and re-train users as well?
Here is an idea: if 2012 is the suggested goal to complete a transition away from XP, then start loading low-cost (or free) Linux today (and running existing XP licenses in free virtual machines to support the programs that currently "must" run on Windows -- just like you will be forced to do with Windows 7, while paying through the nose for the "privilege"). Open-source applications can currently meet most needs of corporate users -- now picture the state of open source applications in 3 more years, allowing the complete, gradual phase-out of the use of Windows.
Now add into this the savings in administration, virus-patching, and so on related to running mostly on secure open-source software. The end result: a competitive advantage to companies that begin to break away from Microsoft lock-in, and adopt cutting-edge open source technology.
(I hope Gartner is enjoying his Microsoft pay cheque.)
Why would anyone listen to Gartner? These are the people that have recommended every MS upgrade ever! Previous recommendations include Windows Me and Vista, when will people look at past recommendations and realize that their input is paid for?
I actually expected the cost estimate to be lower, especially when Windows 7 actually performs better on lower-end hardware than Vista ever did. Something like Cost-of-Win7 + $25 for RAM would do it for many WinXP-era machines to make them usable in a business sense.
Training? Are people honestly that stupid, especially if they already know how to use WinXP? I would imagine it'd cost more time and money to train people on Linux though, even if neither would be a great jump.
I almost think Gartner is more in the hardware-companys' pockets than, for example, Microsoft's.
Every report I've ever heard of coming from Gartner has Microsoft approved stamped right on it. They have no credibility. Why report on anything coming from them?
"The Windows 7 release will generate renewed interest in hardware upgrades in consumers..." said Charles Smulders, managing vice president at Gartner.
In other words; Just as with Windows Vista, driver support will be severely lacking and you'll have to replace nearly all your peripherals and much of your hardware to get back to having a usable system.
Why does everyone always have to have the latest, hey, if XP runs MS Office and that's what you need, then why upgrade Windows or Office for that matter?
Keep what you have, get your money's worth out of it. Maybe when Microsoft's sales target fall way short, maybe, just maybe, they'll build a affordable and actually useful OS for the masses, and OMG, maybe one that's backward compatible for those of us who like our older software! :-)
Take care
Regards: Jack <<<<