Windows 7 - I Believe

[#1]

For many of us in the IT industry, 10/22/09 was an important day - Windows 7 was released. For me, believe it or not, I was actually excited about a new operating system (which probably speaks volumes about me needing to get other interests). I wanted to write in the blog some of my thoughts about why I am excited about it, and get your thoughts as well. As always, the thoughts, information, and positioning of this blog are mine and not those of my employer.

Perhaps it is the recession and the day to day stress we all feel, where some sort of innovaiton can become the "next big thing". There is a convergence going on in client computing-  Microsoft's Windows 7, Intel's architecture, and OEM's features and form factors. If you are like me, the question on the table is - is this combination driven by a new O/S going to create the impetus for technology refresh, and, as important, is this technology refresh going to make a difference.

I think the answer is yes.

The answer is yes because coming out of the recession, many businesses have deferred refreshing the PC's only to find themselves in a dilemma- how to revert back to a logical planned phased refresh and not a "big bang". If the convergence of all three factors decscribed above are really compelling, shouldn't this technology refresh cycle reduce IT recurring spend? I think that it may in fact do so. The answer, however, is to look beyond the actual hardware acquisition and focus on the more holistic perspective. For those of you who do not believe in TCO, this may prove to be difficult. If cost reduction is gauged only by spending less capital dollars and not operating expenses, then it may be a challenge (as they say in New England) "to get there from here".

Windows 7 combined with various features from Intel and the product features have seemed to embraced my core discipline of client lifecycle management or CLLP (Closed Loop Lifecycle Planning). Power management, faster boot times, touch enablement, quick look ups, and other features can be quantified and a solid business case created. I think that this is one of the first technology refresh cycle where a business case could be defined that can effectively discuss ROI, cost reduction, risk reduction and cost avoidance. In other words, this refresh may not be a pure cash outlay in terms of ROI. This technology refresh cycle has embraced lifecycle management.

Another convergence, it seems to me, is the consumerization of the business PC. Without changing core imaging, applications, and other aspects of a business PC, the combination of form factors, W7, and Intel can provide the business end user much more of a consumer and personal look and feel of the business computer without many of the risks associated with BYOC discussions (Bring You Own PC, see my previous blog). W7 may in fact seems to address a lot of the feedback we all discuss day to day (it suggests that concerns about Vista registered).

There is a lot to like, but as we all know, your experience may vary. Each business implementation will have some aspect that is unique, Pareto's 80-20 rule. However, W7 for me gives me something to believe in- a catalyst to refresh older technology that may consume more power, may be riskier in its operation (afterall XP is 8 years old)  resulting in  in PC's that weigh/cost considerably more, and laptops that have a shorter battery life.

Let me know what you think and what your W7 perceptions and realities are.

The dialog for this refresh is compelling, and whether or not you believe as I do that the O/S is a catalyst, there is actually a "buzz", excitement associated with, of all things, an operating system.

[#2]

Gostaria de saber como baixo o windows 7, adquiri um notebook de fabricação americana e não falo ingles.

[#3]

Thanks for the webinar today, Brian. It was quite informative and agree with you that W7 is coming at the right time and be the 'next big thing'. However, common perception around MS releases is the desire to wait for SP2 or SP3 of the OS/Applications. What are your thoughts on that as it relates to the readiness of W7

[#4]

Thank you for a very informative webinar today! We especially appreciated the ROI specifics noted on the "Example of Quantification" slide. This information is rarely broken out so clearly. I've added this blog to my Favorites and will be referring back often.

[#5]

Great webinar!  In addition to hearing your thoughts on the " Wait for SP1/SP2/SP3" question, I would like to hear your thoughts on the development of tools or processes that will help facilitate XP to W7 migrations?  

XP has been in use for a long time and the "easy transfer" does not bode well for in-place migrations.

Thanks,

[#6]

Thanks again for your interest and participation in the W7 webcast. Among the questions are two key points that are described above. The first is whether to wait for service pack releases before adopting W7. The second is about toolsets and the data migration and transfer to the new O/S. both are very good questions.

The first question relates to the level of confidence that orgaizations will have that W7 will be "ready from the beginning" and that there will not be gaps in the solution that would be addressed by subsequent releases through service packs.

In this respect I remain quite confident that the W7 unlike other O/S releases will not be dependent upon service pack releases to achieve successful operational efficiency. From the features that are known, one can actaully calculate a cost in defering the adoption. Depending upon your business model, this itself may be a compelling set of economics to embrace W7.

There is a mindset change, however, that may be at the core of the question. Adopting W7 at this moment in time, does not suggest that your business is an "early adopter". The O/S is mature and stable as it is released today based upon all that I have researched and in the opinion of several of the resources that I have cited. My guidance is not to wait.

The second question is about the tools and the XP leagacy for transfer. Since the last O/S (8 years and counting) the maturity of management tools is past multiple generations. While I do not want to simplify the effort, again I am confident that the tools are mature enough and then some to address issues encountered in the past. Client Automation Tools by the OEMs, third party tools, and Microsoft's support tools can all play the role . Since the last major O/S change as well the role of out tasking deployment has hit a new level of maturity that can make current migrations more of a playbook approach. Again, I do not want to over simpify, but in looking at the case studies, migration did not present an unusual challenge.

Let me know your opinions on these thoughts as well.

[#7]

Can I expect any problems with printing to my wireless HP Photosmart C7200 series printer when I change to the W7 64 bit system?

[#8]

While I do not have a specific answer for that , I have asked my colleagues internally to provide me feedback to this. Once received I will post the response here.

[#9]

Here is some information that may be useful, this is out of my baliwicke so I requested  the appropriate websites and telephone contacts for your inquiry.

The following link (very long) is found on HP.com

search.hp.com/redirect.html

Another alternative is to contact support at welcome.hp.com/.../phone_asssit.html

Lastly the contact for most business PC's is 800-334-5144 (24X7)

We have seen on the first URL where customers on this forum have succesfully loaded W7.

I hope that this information is useful.