Windows 7 kills two thirds of active Vista initiatives

We recently ran a Reg Reader survey asking respondents (over 1,100 IT pros) about their thoughts and plans on the topic of desktop modernisation. Along the way, we took the opportunity to figure out where organisations are out there today with their desktop estates. You can download our full report here (no reg req'd). …

[Michael C]

File under "Duh"

Lets face it, half the Vista only products in dev were killed months ago... As soon as devs chould get their hands on RTM versions of 7, anything not being developed that was 7 compatible got killed. A lot of work transitions from Vista to 7 projects, but when they come out, they'll be for 7, and MAYBE will run on Vista. Same goes for all the hardware guys. In 18 months, good luck buying a spanking new product that runs on anything other than 7 except in some "limited" backward compatability mode, unless its just a simple app that by nature is Vista compatible (even then, donp;t expect much support for it).

[Anonymous Coward]

Still on the fence here...

We are still on the fence as far as windows 7 on the desktop, primarily due to application compatibility and certification.

[The Original Steve]

Vista and 7

We adopted early to Vista which means we're already fully geared for 7. Suprisingly we didn't really have any issues with Vista other than 2 apps which were officially stopped by the vendors years BEFORE Vista was even released.

Software Assurance means the only cost is in the actual roll out - and using Windows Deployment Services I'll have an image for our whole desktop estate ready in a matter of a week.

Hardware wise we tell the staff what they get. We break users down into 3 groups - thin client, desktop or laptop. Current batch of desktops are Dell OptiPlex 760 (4 Gig RAM, some Intel Core 2 Duo etc.), laptops are Dell Latitude E6400's (same spec as above) and Wyse terminals for Citrix clients.

Piece of cake really.

[James McGregor]

Makes sense. But kinda obvious.

There's a recession going on. Considering the enormous expense in upgrading hardware, migrating software and installing, no business is going to move off what they've got (which is mostly XP) unless there's a compelling reason to do so.

Vista was Microsoft's first shot at an OS with user-mode drivers, heap defragmentation and UAC and frankly, it's half-baked and excruciatingly fustrating as an end-user experience, even with SP2. Microsoft learned its lesson and with Windows 7, addresses the usability issues and keeps the good stuff from Vista. Software and drivers that are written for Vista mostly work out-of-the-box for Windows 7, so when the right reins on IT spending have been relaxed somewhat, it makes no sense (financially or technically) to upgrade to Vista and then 7. Why go through the pain twice over? Besides, no business user's gonna thank you for Vista on their desktop.

XP Professional was declared end-of-life in January. When the IT departments get some cash to play with, they're gonna go for Windows 7. Even Paris can see that. :)

[Anonymous Coward]

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"the strong positive reception to Windows 7, even before its release, had led to two out of three then current Vista migration initiatives being halted or put on hold."

Sadly ours was not one of them....

[Spikey]

Time for a change

Time to change from Windows to something else...

[KarlTh]

@Michael C

Under the bonnet, Vista and W7 are that similar that I imagine most W7 apps will run on Vista without even thinking about it.

[Anonymous Coward]

*Nods*

A firm *nod* to James McGregor, KarlTh and Spikey.

*Recession*

There is indeed a recession going on and that is definitely going to have an effect on any survey conducted at this time. To try and analyse the survey, without taking into account the financial climate is going to lead to erroneous conclusions. Furthermore, since MS have seen fit to not offer Vista users a cost effective upgrade to W7, one can see how that would also impact any migration projects.

*W7 = Rebranded Vista*

Don't kid yourselves. W7 is Vista with a new face and some annoyances removed/reworked.

*Time for Change*

Indeed, that time is soon (maybe not now, but soon and worth starting to plan for), especially for Vista users faced with the cost of moving to W7, just to stay on point.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: no reg req'd?

Report was mistakenly gated. Now fixed.