Microsoft launched its new operating system on October 22 but many
of its customers were already testing it in live environments
months before the launch date. However, the fact remains that more
than 70 percent of customers still use Windows XP.
Many Vista users downgraded to XP. Windows XP and Vista users are
thrilled with the robustness, security and features of Windows 7,
but the usual practice is to wait for Service Pack 1. Network
Computing spoke to Rajan Anandan, MD, Microsoft India and customers
such as NIIT and Maruti Suzuki India, to understand how soon this
migration will happen. Some CIOs also shared their views and plans
for Windows 7.
When we asked Anandan to give us a timeline he instead shared his
optimism and opined, “Over 1,000 companies in India among the
top 5,000 are already using Windows 7. These are Infosys, L&T,
Bangalore International Airport, Biocon, etc. This proves that
we’ve listened well [to our customers] and Windows 7
addresses many of the concerns of enterprise users. That’s
why we expect the migration to be pretty rapid.”
This time Microsoft did something that is more common in the open
source world. It conducted a customer experience program and the
largest beta testing program that involved 8 million testers
worldwide. It ensured that the OS was used in large enterprises
(including Microsoft) for the past eight months and it was in close
contact with users for feedback. This helped it identify and fix
bugs that usually surface after a launch.
NIIT for instance, signed up with Microsoft for the customer
experience program from day one. Over time, it migrated its users
to Windows 7 in groups. The system administration team was first,
then the back office users, followed by the course content
developers.
Says Pankaj Dikshit, GM, NIIT, “The experience has been
satisfying. Windows 7 gives much better performance on any class of
hardware. We installed this OS on older PCs with 512 MB RAM and to
our surprise it ran rather well.”
Sunil Mehta, Senior VP & Area Systems Director Central Asia,
JWT says, “From the demos that I saw prior to the launch I
can see that there has been a massive change over Vista. Windows 7
will change the way people work and you can expect better
performance too.”
While the feedback and enthusiasm is positive, it’s only a
matter of time before organizations shift their entire base of
clients to Windows 7. But Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer expects most
Windows 7 installations will come with new computers. Enterprises
refresh their computers every three to four years and that’s
when an enterprise will really make the big change to Windows 7. Of
course, those who have signed on for Microsoft’s assurance
program will also upgrade or be tempted to upgrade.
Organizations such as Maruti Suzuki India, Kuoni Travel Group,
India and others have skipped Windows Vista and are upgrading from
XP.
Perhaps the biggest factor driving enterprises to upgrade is
XP’s limited life. Microsoft has long stopped selling XP and
discontinued tech or warranty support; it is offering security
upgrades till 2014. It is also known that Microsoft let Vista users
downgrade to XP till 2011.
Microsoft is also touting Windows 7’s lower TCO and green
capabilities, as compared to Windows XP. Says Anandan, “A
large enterprise or middle market company can save between Rs 5,000
– 8,000 per client device (desktop or notebook). That’s
because a lot of the security software that companies buy
separately is already built into the OS. VPN connectivity is
built-in so you can save cost there too. We have customers who have
achieved these savings already.”
Anandan also informed us that Windows 7 is greener than XP.
“Microsoft has committed to reduce its carbon footprint by 50
percent in three years. Windows 7 is 50 percent more green than
Vista. This is achieved through better power management
features.”
While certain features of Windows 7 seem attractive to enterprises,
the caveat is features such as DirectAccess and BranchCache can be
used only in conjunction with Windows Server 2008 R2, which was
also launched recently. Enterprises may be waiting to upgrade its
servers first and that could delay the migration to Windows 7.
Meanwhile, some CIOs shared their plans for the switchover.
Says Rajesh Uppal, Chief General Manager (Information Technology
Division), Maruti Suzuki India, “[For us] it’s a direct
jump from XP to Windows 7. Currently we are using a few licenses of
Windows 7 on a trial basis. We are looking at buying 2,000 licenses
within six months. We are getting an automatic upgrade as part of
the software assurance program with Microsoft.”
Mehta of JWT says, “We have a global licensing agreement with
Microsoft and all Vista systems will eventually be upgraded to
Windows 7, Professional version. WPP (the parent company) has
100,000 people and we go on the basis of headcount. So,
that’s as many licenses that will be required. In India the
upgrade will happen in Q2 next year.”