More than seven months since early copies of Windows Vista reached businesses and organizations, Microsoft finds that a significant number of enterprises are still not using Vista. A large number are opting to wait for the release of SP1, while a few others are either starting to evaluate the OS or are currently deploying it.

Contrary to the recommendation made by CEO of Rescuecon corporation David Milman to Computerworld, which says “[Users should] wait for six months after Vista SP1 appears before moving to Vista,” Microsoft, in its Windows Vista blog, said “Organizations do not need to wait for SP1 to deploy Windows Vista; they are encouraged to begin their Windows Vista evaluation and deployment now.”

Microsoft detailed its recommendations:

• Organizations currently evaluating and deploying Windows Vista should continue their evaluation, pilot programs, and deployment on the initial (”Gold”) Windows Vista release. Microsoft provides the tools and guidance needed to deploy Windows Vista today and will provide additional guidance, tools and support for moving to SP1 when the service pack is released.
• Organizations just starting to evaluate Windows Vista should plan a pilot program, targeting the PCs that gain the most business value from Windows Vista and present the simplest upgrade from the gold release of Windows Vista to SP1.
• Organizations waiting for Windows Vista SP1 should start their compatibility testing on the gold release of Windows Vista now, and then begin their evaluation and pilot programs on the release candidate of Windows Vista SP1 when it is released. Windows Vista includes architectural changes relative to Windows XP that improve security and reliability. These changes can cause some applications which work on Windows XP not to work on Windows Vista. However, these architectural changes are also part of Windows Vista SP1. For this reason, testing applications on Windows Vista today will be a very good proxy for compatibility with Windows Vista SP1.

Earlier, Forrester Research told Computerworld that software incompatibility, the need for hardware upgrades, and comfort with existing versions of Microsoft Windows are all causing businesses to put off their deployments.

But like Microsoft, Forrester and another research firm, Gartner, are in one - recommending that companies should start planning for Vista now.

If an organization is planning to adopt Vista months or years from now, it is best not to wait for the release of SP1 before starting to evaluate and deploy Vista.

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Related:

Windows Vista SP1: No longer “so important”

Microsoft: No Vista service pack for you

Gartner: Sticking to Windows XP until Windows 7 arrives is risky

Windows 7 release announcement is bad for Vista

Businesses just say "no" to Vista

Entry was posted on Wednesday, August 29th, 2007 at 10:38 am under Uncategorized.  Print This Post

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