Firms remain cautious over Windows 7

Window’s 7 takeup looks set to be lacklustre, according to a survey commissioned by systems management appliance vendor Kace.

According to research carried out by market watcher Dimensional Research, which polled more than 1,100 IT staff across the globe, a whopping 84 per cent have no plans to upgrade existing Windows desktop and laptop systems to Windows 7 in the next year, despite the enthusiasm from beta testers.

The main reason for this was shortcomings in its predecessor Vista, closely followed by software compatibility issues, cost of implementation and the current economic environment. However, on a more positive note, 83 per cent said they would probably skip straight to Windows 7 and miss out Vista completely.

In a further twist, 50 per cent of respondents said they are considering moving from Windows altogether to alternative operating systems such as Mac OS and Linux. This is a 10 per cent increase from the number of users looking to migrate last July.

Diane Hagglund, senior research analyst at Dimensional Research, said: “The research shows that despite the early enthusiasm for Windows 7, organisations are still wary about adoption, demonstrating what could be described as an overly cautious approach. Negative public perception of Vista seems to have helped build this layer of distrust with Windows 7.”