CC's plan for XP migration

Computacenter has claimed its Rapid Deployment Desktop (RDM) migration package will encourage end-users to migrate to Windows XP.

Launched last week, (RDM) is being presented as evidence of how the channel's diverse expertise can offer businesses efficient XP migrations.

RDM will address the need for faster and more made-to-measure migrations to the Microsoft operating system with packaged consultancy, as well as physical XP deployment in as little as 15 minutes, Computacenter claimed.

Adrian Tatum, emerging solutions director at Computacenter, said companies face two major challenges when deploying XP. "They are struggling to justify migration, and the actual deployment is hard.

"We help firms understand the value of the platform by presenting the business case and ROI story," he said.

Tatum added that XP deployment is traditionally carried out by engineers who visit every desktop, but by using remote deployment, such as Microsoft's zero touch technology, installment can be completed more cost-effectively.

Research from infrastructure management software vendor On Technology backs up Computacenter's claims.

According to the company, there is a big market opportunity for the channel, with businesses holding back because of the cost and effort associated with performing migrations.

The survey of IT chiefs in 100 medium to large UK companies found that, after two years on the market, the adoption of XP remains slow, with only 11 per cent of businesses fully migrating their desktops.

Steve Derbyshire, managing director of Microsoft reseller Telamon, was positive about XP take-up. He claimed his firm offers custom builds and fast, uncomplicated deployments.

"For Windows 95 and NT we needed a small army of people to install the software on machines, but we are rolling out XP much more quickly through server-based builds and putting it on computers via the network," he said.

Separately, Computacenter has won a £6m deal with the Charity Commission to upgrade its 600 users to Windows and Office XP.

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