Long horn, vista, nowhere

Survey: 30% Of Businesses Have No Plans To Upgrade To Windows Vista, Ever

Concerns about compatibility and cost are driving less-than-stellar adoption rates, despite security enhancements in the new OS.

By
Paul
McDougall



InformationWeek





April 25, 2007 02:00 PM

In the latest sign that Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system
may be destined for less than overwhelming commercial success, a new
InformationWeek survey has found that nearly one third of businesses do
not plan on upgrading their computers to the much-hyped software.

Tech professionals at the businesses surveyed were asked the
following question: "When, if ever, does your company plan to purchase
and install Windows Vista?"

One quarter of the 612 survey respondents said they were already using
the new OS; 13% said they would do so in the next 12 months, while 27%
said their companies would adopt Windows Vista more than one year from now.

But in what will surely be viewed as disappointing news at Microsoft
headquarters in Redmond, WA, a full 30% of those surveyed said they had
no plans to upgrade their systems to Windows Vista -- not ever.

"While security enhancements remain the primary reason for companies to
adopt Windows Vista, concerns about compatibility and cost are still
out there," wrote survey author Lisa Smith, InformationWeek's managing
editor for research.

Indeed, Windows Vista compatibility issues are causing numerous headaches for Microsoft and its tech industry partners.

A number of major federal agencies, including NASA,
the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the Federal Aviation
Administration, have all decided to forego -- at least for now --
moving their desktop systems from Windows XP to Windows Vista, in part
because some of their current business applications won't function
properly on the OS.

Some prestigious universities, such as MIT and Stanford, have
also shelved Windows Vista upgrades until compatibility issues can be
resolved.

Meanwhile, consumer demand for Windows XP -- Windows Vista's predecessor -- recently forced computer maker Dell to reintroduce the older Microsoft operating system as an option on its home systems.

Dell provided few details about the move, but many PC buyers have
reported serious compatibility issues between Windows Vista and their
favorite applications and hardware products.

One disgruntled tech enthusiast recently established a Web site with an eye to garnering support for a class action suit against graphics card
manufacturer Nvidia. The consumer, Dan Goldman of New York City,
charges that Nvidia's claim that its products are Windows Vista
compatible are false.

What's behind Vista's compatibility gap? Microsoft has acknowledged that rewriting Windows XP applications for Windows Vista is a more difficult task than what faced independent software developers when they had to port their products to Windows XP from Windows 2000 and Windows ME in 2001.

The trouble is in part due to advanced Windows Vista security features
like BitLocker and the User Account Control -- designed to prevent
users from changing their desktop footprint without approval from an IT
administrator. Coding applications to work with those features can be
tricky, Microsoft has said.

Heavy system requirements may also be causing business and consumers to
shy away from Windows Vista, at least for now. To experience all of
Vista's features, PC users need a computer with at least a 1-GHz
processor, 1 Gbyte of memory, and a 40-Gbyte hard drive. That's far
beyond what's required for routine business computing tasks like word
processing, running a spreadsheet, or sending e-mails.

By contrast, Windows XP Professional requires only a 300-MHz processor, 128 Mbytes of RAM, and a 1.5-Gbyte disk.

Businesses may thus see little reason to buy expensive new computers
just to run Windows Vista, when their current systems are fully capable
of getting the job done.

Windows Vista held a 2.04% share of the operating system market as of
the end of March -- two months after the software was released for sale
to the general public. Windows XP held an 83.57% share as of March 30,
according to Net Applications.

Despite the ominous signs, Microsoft insists that Windows Vista is selling well. It recently stated
that it sold 20 million Windows Vista licenses in the product's first
month of availability, compared to 17 million Windows XP sales in that
OS's first two months on the market.

More insight into Windows Vista's early sales performance could
be revealed when Microsoft reports third quarter earnings on Thursday.
The full version of InformationWeek's Windows Vista survey is slated
for release in early May.