Is your SMB on the fence about Windows 7? Might wanna read this

[stiltner]

http://www.informationweek.com/news/hardware/desktop/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=225701985

A good article / survey by IDC about Windows 7 cutting support costs in some SMB installations by up to 50% over current Windows XP / Vista installations. Less desk side support is necessary, freeing up deskside IT to do other more necessary tasks than babysitting users.

Users are also more productive because of Windows 7.

I predicted it would be a much bigger win for enterprise than for the home user, and apparently I was pretty spot on.

Its a little nudge for those of you that might be sitting on the fence for your Windows 7 migrations, that are looking for some kind of information to back up to present to your financial guys A 7-9 months ROI is pretty fast, and considering how long term most businesses retained XP, I can see Windows 7 staying on the desktop for some 6-7 years reasonably if not longer. Meaning your total ROI in terms of user productivity should far outpace any costs necessary to move to the platform sooner, rather than later.

 

[rflcptr]

We have many users explicitly requesting the upgrade at my university.

 

[DeaconFrost]

Those studies are always complete bullshit. If a product would really cut deskside calls in half, I'd pay for it myself out of my own pocket. Keeping in mind that I am a huge supporter of Windows 7, and am currently rolling it out in my SMB.

There goes a saying, that if you make something idiot-proof, someone will create a better idiot, and that is absolutely, 100% true in computing. Windows 7 is great, but it will present all new reasons to do support. First, it will be learning curve-related questions. Then, it will be from people who don't remember what you showed them the first through the fifth time you showed them. After that, it will be calls where they screwed something up, or just insist on you hand holding them through tasks they should be doing without help. Considering I'm the only IT staffer, unless they cut my salary, there's no way it will lower support costs at all.

 

[TexUs]

Those studies are always complete bullshit.

QFT. Most of these ROI-type stories are.

Now, I won't argue that it results in less cleanup work and system maintenance. But on locked down corporate networks, that isn't an issue usually, anyway.