Despite warnings to businesses about the dangers of skipping Windows
Vista, many IT managers and CIOs are standing firm that the risks of
migrating to Vista outweigh the benefits.
The recent press coverage regardingperformance efficiencies seen in the Windows 7 pre-beta (delivered at Microsoft's recent Professional Developers Conference) has dimmed the spotlight on Vista a bit.
Also, Vista sales have fallen short of expectations lately: For the
fiscal first quarter of 2009, Microsoft's Windows client division
revenue increased a mere 2 percent in year-over-year growth, while
operating income dropped by 4 percent.
Mike Nash, corporate VP of Windows product management, was asked
recently if he expects users to bypass Vista and wait for Windows 7.
He referenced the progress made in Vista SP1, but added that "customers are going to make their own decisions."
Yes, they are. Whether they are spitefully, wholeheartedly skipping
Vista or doing it for straightforward budgetary reasons, the decision
on what to do (or not to do) with Vista still weighs heavy on the minds
of IT managers.
IT pros and CIOs we talked to for this story have some old concerns
regarding Vista, starting with its ROI, and some new ones, such as how
they'd handle a Vista upgrade for users who've now decided based on
months of negative publicity that Vista's a bad choice.
What they have in common is clear: They're sticking with XP, at least until Windows 7 arrives.
XP Works Just Fine, Thank You
The old expression, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it", rings true
for IT managers. Many do not see enough demand for Vista at their
companies and XP is giving them everything they need. To upgrade would
be to unnecessarily complicate their infrastructures, they say.
John Halamka, CIO of Harvard Medical School, says he has not been
able to justify upgrading to Vista for his user population of doctors
and nurses, citing the PC hardware requirements of Vista and the
stability of XP.
Source : http://www.itbusiness.ca/
