“Most IT pros not planning on Windows 7 rollout” is the headline of an article at the IT scoop site, theRegister. The story is based on a survey done of 1100 business users by Scriptlogix. This survey goes counter to what Microsoft has been saying about users reactions to Windows 7.
A number of factors are cited for the rejection of Windows 7:
1)Time to test and rollout the OS;
2)formidable learning curve for existing users particularly with revamped Office 2010;
3)1/3 of firms do not have staff because they have cut staff or delayed hires;
4)the step from Windows XP to Windows 7 is perceived as being even more daunting.
Bottomline is that the survey found that 60% of surveyed users have no plans whatsoever to upgrade to Windows 7. The Register notes:
“ScriptLogic’s findings will jolt Microsoft who’s already deemed Windows 7 a success, at least in hitting the development milestones. The data also runs counter to an apparently emerging industry wisdom that Microsoft’s next client will be a relative shoo-in compared to Windows Vista, because it offers significantly improved performance – and because nothing could ever be as bad as Windows Vista.“
This analysis does not take into account that a)Windows Vista is not faster than Windows XP and b)will be faced with odious comparison for speed/performance with Apple’s Snow Leopard and Google’s Android and Chrome OS. One begins to wonder if Microsoft is getting to be a fumble-butt in the OS game.