Survey: 50 per cent of businesses to adopt Windows 7 in first year

Posted on 19 Oct 2009 at 16:25

According to an independent survey of 1,200 companies, nearly half of them plan to deploy Windows 7 in its first year of availability. A further 11 per cent of the surveyed companies said they'd adopt the new OS as soon as Microsoft releases the first service pack.

The survey was conducted by Boston-based Information Technology Intelligence Corp., a technology analyst firm run by industry veteran Laura DiDio. DiDio said that there was no influence or funding from Microsoft and she hasn't yet informed the software giant of the results.

"[Microsoft] needed a winner, and it looks like they have it - barring any unforeseen mishaps, such as some egregious bug," she said. Most companies have avoided Vista and stuck with the now eight-year-old Windows XP.

DiDio believes that the positive attitude towards Windows 7 comes in part from the good experiences IT departments have had while testing the beta and release candidate builds of the new OS. In fact, almost 80 per cent of those who have tested Windows 7 said it was either "excellent" or "very good".

"Overall, the mood based on the survey comments, is generally positive. However, some corporate customers did voice healthy scepticism on issues ranging from application compatibility to upgrade pricing for the commercial and business editions of Windows 7," summarised DiDio.

There are still 40 percent of those surveyed who have no specific plans for Windows 7. Most cited satisfaction with their current Windows XP or Vista infrastructures; the lack of a compelling business reason to make the shift; and the importance of compatibility with the applications they use. Clearly, they're not convinced that Windows XP mode is the solution at the moment.

Author: Tim Smalley

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