Analyst warns business: don’t wait for Windows 7 service pack
Corporate sales of Windows 7 could get off to a good start if businesses follow the advice of a leading analyst firm. Gartner has suggested companies should skip the common policy of avoiding a new operating system until its first service pack.
The service pack is a collection of updates and security fixes which is usually issued after an edition of Windows has been out for significant time. The first XP service pack came 11 months after the system’s debut, while the first Vista service pack took 14 months to get a full public release. Microsoft hasn’t yet indicated it even has a timetable in place for the first Windows 7 service pack.
Traditionally, many businesses have waited for the first service pack before upgrading to a new edition of Windows. That’s because of a theory that, despite the lengthy beta testing process, the original releases are too unreliable for a business setting, with most kinks ironed out by the service pack.
Gartner warns against following that philosophy this time round for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it argues that the Windows Update system is more timely and reliable today, meaning there’s much less hassle in having the changes applied to the system as soon as they are ready, even when the updates have to be installed across a corporate network.
Secondly, it believes that firms which are still using XP really can’t afford to wait much longer. Although Microsoft will be providing limited support for the system until 2014, Gartner believes most independent support will disappear as early as 2011. Given the time it takes to test and install a new version of Windows across an entire company (including retraining staff where necessary), that could mean that waiting until Windows 7’s first service pack could risk leaving things too late.
Even if companies do follow Gartner’s advice, it may not lead to an immediate boost to Windows 7 sales. That’s because a proportion of firms planning to upgrade, particularly those who’ve stuck with XP and skipped Vista, may streamline the process by getting the new operating system when replacing aging hardware rather than installing it on the old machines. Even where IT staff have made the decision to do that in principle, in many cases they could have to wait until the spring when companies start their new financial year and release funds for capital spending.
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