MS pitches Windows 7 at biz world ahead of Chrome OS release
Don't wait for Google rival Internet Explorer 9, urges Ballmer crew
Customer Success Testimonial: Recovery is Everything
Microsoft is telling biz punters not to put off upgrading their operating system to Windows 7 while they wait for Internet Explorer 9 to be released.
Unsurprisingly, the software vendor is encouraging business customers to adopt Windows 7 ahead of the expected spring 2011 arrival of IE 9.
Redmond typically pushes customers to upgrade to its latest OS release quickly. It did the same with Windows Vista, which was hamstrung with compatibility problems at launch in 2006.
Even after Vista’s first service pack arrived, businesses snubbed the operating system.
With Windows 7 Microsoft isn’t facing the same stubbornness, as many businesses and consumers have warmly received its current OS.
But that doesn’t mean that all biz punters will rush to deploy Windows 7 in their organisations. Many are minded enough to wait for the release of the operating system’s first service pack, which is expected to rock up in the first half of 2011.
Indeed the release could even coincide with the arrival of IE 9.
Despite all that, Microsoft’s Rich Reynolds told customers yesterday not to sit on their hands.
“Until the final code of Internet Explorer 9 is released to the web (RTW), we recommend businesses first move to Windows 7 Enterprise with Internet Explorer 8 so they can immediately benefit from the enhanced security, manageability, web standardisation, and lifecycle support that Internet Explorer 8 brings to enterprise browsing, today,” he said.
“In addition, thanks to the high degree of application compatibility between the two browser versions, any investments today in deploying Internet Explorer 8 will put you on the best path to transitioning to Internet Explorer 9 in the future. Your Internet Explorer 8 migration investments will be preserved when you are ready to deploy Internet Explorer 9.”
But it's also interesting to see Microsoft pushing its business customers to effectively stick with Windows by hitting the upgrade button and renewing all important licence agreements now.
After all, Google's Chrome OS could arrive on some netbooks as early as next month, so perhaps Redmond is simply trying to stay ahead of the game, or else admitting it needs an insurance policy to keep Wall Street and its investors happy. ®
COMMENTS
Oh come on, really ?
"After all, Google's Chrome OS could arrive on some netbooks as early as next month, so perhaps Redmond is simply trying to stay ahead of the game, or else admitting it needs an insurance policy to keep Wall Street and its investors happy. "
I doubt anyone - least of all MSor Google - seriously believes that Chrome OS Is going to be competing with Windows on the biz desktop. And if anyone on wall street thinks that, then they've been listening to Rob Enderle (unlikely) and deserve everything they get.
In any case, if MS really gave a toss about wall street they'd have pitched Balmer over the side long ago.
IE9 really? how about SP1?
How hard M$ work to make you forget that none of their OS's have ever worked properly pre-service pack. fanboys argue all you want, the truth will set you free. All bar vista ofc which never worked.
Anyway, ye, don't wait for IE9 ... live it up like 1999 "your putting your most needed application into a web browser?? the thing that crashes most yes!? " ) (support magic btw)
Wait for SP1 . god knows how bad the innards of 7 are, the complete back track on all the vista work. basically XP done right (almost) with vista explorer enhancements.
and SP1 seems to be a collection of hotfixes already installed, in beta for almost a year and still has bugs?
Sound like something you want as a base? :)
Web Standardisation
"web standardisation" - is that supposed to mean them finally bowing to web standards, or another reference to their attempt to set their own again?
I still can't use web access utilities from many big cproprations, to control their products, on anything other than IE. It's a real pain.
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