Businesses are taking a wait-and-see approach to Microsoft’s new operating system – Windows Vista Enterprise – released last week.
“We like to be on the cutting edge, not the bleeding edge,” said Martin Gale, chief information officer for Microtech-Tel, a Denver-based voice and data telecommunications company.
Vista Enterprise, the business version of Vista released Thursday, is the next operating system for Windows users following Windows XP, which was released in 2001. A version of Vista for home PC users will be available in late January.
A survey by CDW Corp., a technology-solutions company, found that 86 percent of corporate technology executives plan to upgrade their systems to Windows Vista. But only 20 percent plan to make the move in the next year, according to the survey.
A separate Forrester Research survey found that 34 percent of technology decisionmakers in North America and Europe plan to start deploying Vista within the next year.
Gale tried out a beta version of Vista Enterprise for more than six months but doesn’t expect to purchase Vista for the company until late next year or 2008.
“Generally speaking, I thought the interface was nice,” he said. “I found quite a few incompatibility issues with older software, and a few driver issues with video cards on older PCs.”
The new operating system offers additional security features, which may make it less prone to stability problems, said Andi Mann, a senior analyst for Enterprise Management Associates, a Boulder- based research firm.
But at the same time, he said, companies are concerned with the return on investment they would get installing a new operating system, which might also require upgrades to new PCs with faster processing power and graphics capability.
“Businesses need to be wary,” he said. “There must be compatibility and integration with existing systems. If Vista isn’t tested to be compatible, they need to be careful they don’t hurt their business by diving in.”
At Microtech-Tel, founder and president Sam Kumar estimated that it would cost $25,000 to install Vista at the 50-person company.
“Every time there’s a software upgrade, they force you to upgrade the hardware,” he said. “We upgraded our PCs at least three years ago when we installed Windows XP.”
Companies also may be reluctant to upgrade because of headaches they could create in ensuring that networks continue to meet new, tougher accounting and health care privacy regulations.
“That’s part of what will hold Vista back,” Mann said. “Budgets have tightened; it’s more important to provide added value to the business. … There are actually few compelling reasons to go with Vista.”
Along with the operating system, Microsoft also rolled out a new version of Microsoft Office – Office 2007 – its popular suite of e-mail, word processing, spreadsheet and presentation software. It is the first time in 11 years that the company has released new versions of its flagship products simultaneously.
Microsoft Windows operating systems power 845 million computers worldwide. Office is used by more than 450 million people, according to statements made by company chief executive Steve Ballmer last week.
Information from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer was used in this report.
Staff writer Kimberly S. Johnson can be reached at 303-954-1088 or kjohnson@denverpost.com.
