Microsoft to business: don’t wait till consumer release before Windows 7 upgrade
Microsoft has told business customers that there’s no reason to wait until Windows 7 hits store shelves to begin upgrading. It’s bringing forward the release of tools designed to ease the process in a corporate setting.
In a blog post, the firm reminded businesses that both Software Assurance and volume licensing customers can already download and install Windows 7’s “release to manufacturing” edition: that is, the finished product.
It claims that feedback from firms who’ve already made the leap shows that not only does the system require less support from IT staff (the equivalent of two hours per machine each year), but that in some cases the annual power savings alone will outweigh the cost of upgrading. That’s due in part to features giving system administrators more control over remotely shutting down or hibernating machines on a system where staff have left them switched on at night.
The firm has also announced that a Windows 7-compatible version of its Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack, a set of tools created to make it easier for IT staff to remotely manage desktops on their network, will be released in October. It had originally been expected to appear early next year.
Despite these steps, Microsoft acknowledges that many companies will still stick to a rule of thumb of waiting until the first service pack release before adopting a new version of Windows. It tells ZDNet that at this stage there isn’t even a timetable in place for the first Windows 7 service pack.
The firm also realizes some businesses will leave upgrading the operating system until Office 2010 comes out in the middle of next year. But it insists that it isn’t too early for such businesses to begin testing Windows 7 now and solving compatibility problems before embarking on a full-scale upgrade alongside Office.
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