Who Will Be the Windows 7 Early Adopters?

It’s no easy task to pinpoint who will jump to Windows 7 early. Given the economic uncertainty, nearly all companies in all sectors are reconsidering their IT budgets, say industry analysts.

Roger Kay, president of tech research firm Endpoint Technologies, says that smaller, more flexible organizations are more prone to early Windows 7 deployment.

“The most nimble companies will adopt first, and these firms tend to be smaller,” Kay says, adding that only the most agile large enterprise will move to Windows 7 early.

Directions on Microsoft analyst Michael Cherry says that the positive feedback on Windows 7 has eased the compatibility and performance fears that still hover over Vista, yet he doesn’t see any industries preparing for a wholesale deployment of Windows 7 on all computers.

“I hear concerns about planning and getting approval for an OS upgrade when budgets are being reduced as companies address the current economic situation,” Cherry says.

Such is the case for IT professional, Chris Rapp, director of technology for 100 employees at a branch of Sovereign Bank. He says the benefits of moving to Windows 7 have to be very substantial or the executives at the bank will not pay for it in this economy. “I foresee us not moving to Windows 7 until at least the first service pack is issued … it’s a budget thing.”

But Kay adds that some companies may warm up to Windows 7 and deploy before SP1 even if they planned to wait.

“Because the code is much more stable than Vista, corporate adoption before SP1 will likely be higher than normal for a Windows launch.”

Cherry says that he sees no indication of who will be early adopters because nearly everyone is re-evaluating IT budgets. But he agrees with Kay that we may be hearing less of the common refrain “We’ll wait for SP1” with Windows 7.

“That’s probably because many people see Windows 7 as an update of Vista with a new name,” he says.

What about you? Will you deploy Windows 7 early, gradually or never?