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Why I'm Skipping Windows Vista: IT Speaks Out

IT pros say they've looked past the "I'm a PC" commercials and Apple taunts, but many still see an upgrade from Windows XP to Vista as too risky a proposition. Here's why.

 

November 04, 2008CIO

This story was updated to inlclude additional reporting. To read the latest story, click here.

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 regarding performance 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.

"The hardware lifecycle in health care is five to seven years, and Vista requires more modern hardware then we have," Halamka says. "Simplicity, ease of use and performance are key drivers for us. XP addresses these needs better than Vista."

Steve Berg, VP of IT at Taser International, heads up an XP shop and plans to stay that way until Windows 7. "My rationale is that XP is running our applications very well and is extremely stable on our hardware," he says.

 
 
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WHITE PAPERS

2009 Gartner Magic Quadrant Report

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Executive Dashboards: An Evolutionary Approach

Learn how flexible, easy-to-use executive dashboards can help your business.
 

Making Your People Productive Anywhere

In this eBook, you'll learn how the Windows Optimized Desktop solution reconciles those goals.
 

Upgrading to VMware vSphere with vWire

Learn how vWire can help ensure the success of your upgrade from ESX 3.x to vSphere.
 

Practical Approaches for Securing Web Applications

Enterprises understand the importance of securing web applications to protect critical corporate and customer data. What many don't understand, is how to implement a robust process for integrating security and risk management throughout the web application software development lifecycle.
 

An Executive's Guide to Web Application Security

Since so many Web sites contain vulnerabilities, hackers can leverage a relatively simple exploit to gain access to a wealth of sensitive information, such as credit card data, social security numbers and health records. It's more important than ever to examine your Web application security, assess your vulnerability and take action to protect your business.
 

WEBCASTS

Smart techniques for application security: whitebox + blackbox security testing.

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Lower the Cost and Complexity of a Mobile Workforce through Automation

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CIOs Weigh In On Virtualization

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Jim Malone, Editorial Director of CXO Media's C...
 

Architecting Business Intelligence Applications for Change: The Open Solution

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