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New Study Shows Cautious Approach to Windows 7 Adoption

Vista Shortcomings, Economic Factors, Compatibility Concerns Chief Among Reasons for Slow Adoption Plans

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – April 14, 2009 – KACE, the leading systems management appliance company, today announced the results from a new survey that revealed 84 percent of IT staff polled do not have plans to upgrade existing Windows desktop and laptop systems to Windows 7 in the next year—despite early enthusiasm from beta testers of the new operating system. Many respondents cited Vista shortcomings as the leading reason for a slow go approach to Windows 7. Software compatibility, cost of implementation, and the current economic environment were also cited as leading concerns about migrating to Windows 7. Further, the vast majority – 83 percent – said they are likely to skip Vista altogether and eventually migrate directly to Windows 7.

The research, consisting of an online survey of more than 1,100 worldwide participants representing a wide range of IT functions, was conducted by market research firm Dimensional Research and commissioned by KACE to gather data about current opinions around Windows 7 intended adoption. The research shows that IT departments of all sizes have concerns about moving to Windows 7. In fact, continuing a trend identified in earlier research, 50 percent are considering moving from Windows altogether to alternative operating systems, such as the Mac OS and Linux, up almost 10 percent from a survey conducted last July.

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

A summary of key findings from the survey include:

  • 84 percent of survey respondents have no plans to upgrade existing Windows desktops and laptops to Windows 7 next year;
  • 72 percent indicated they are more concerned about upgrading to Windows 7 than staying with an outdated XP operating system;
  • 50 percent revealed they have considered moving from Windows to an alternative operating system, and 27 percent of those cited Mac OS as the top alternative;
  • Almost 60 percent of survey respondents do not presently have a tool in place that automates operating system migration;
  • Economic factors, such as budget freezes and staff reductions, were cited as other reasons to not immediately adopt Windows 7.

Understanding the need to minimize the cost and complexity of operating system deployment, KACE offers an appliance-based approach that allows IT administrators to cost-effectively manage OS and image provisioning. Remote provisioning of laptops, desktops, and servers can be a costly and complex task for IT organizations and is expected to become even more complex when jumping from Windows XP straight to Windows 7. In fact, 72 percent of survey respondents view a tool to help migrate operating systems as something that helps save time and effort. KACE eases the pain of both remote and on-site provisioning by automating the entire deployment process, eliminating time-consuming and error-prone manual tasks.

“Using KBOX from KACE, we have the ability to push out images and entire operating systems in an easy-to-use and automated fashion across multiple hardware platforms,” said Chris Blake, workstation administrator at Benchmark Group, a commercial building design services firm. “We are a Windows XP shop and recognize we will eventually have to roll-out a new operating system as XP will eventually be phased out. When we are ready, we plan to rely heavily on KBOX to help ease the pain during our transition wherever possible. Capabilities like this were a primary factor in our original decision to use KBOX. Changes can be scary, but with tools like this we can rest easier knowing that we can get the work done.”

The Dimensional Research report, titled “Windows 7 Adoption: A Survey of Technology Professionals,” is available at: http://www.kace.com/resources/Windows-7-Adoption-Survey.

Survey Methodology
An independent database of IT professionals from small, mid-sized, and large IT organizations worldwide were emailed in March 2009 and invited to participate in the Web survey on the topic of Windows 7 adoption. The 1,142 participants were not compensated for participation and represent a wide range of IT functions, including hands-on professionals, team managers, and business owners with many participants indicating they had multiple roles within their organizations. Of those polled, 17 percent indicated they have installed the Windows 7 Beta.

About KACE™
KACE™ is the leading systems management appliance company. The award-winning KBOX™ family of appliances delivers easy-to-use, comprehensive systems management capabilities. KACE customers usually install in one day and enjoy the lowest total cost compared to software alternatives.
 
KACE is headquartered in Mountain View, California. To learn more about KACE and its product offerings, please visit http://www.kace.com or call 1-877-MGMT-DONE.

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Editorial contact:
Scott Lechner
Kulesa Faul, Inc.
650-340-1987
scott@kulesafaul.com