After its much-anticipated release, Windows 7 was welcomed with a flurry of positive reviews suggesting none of the hesitation users felt toward adopting its predecessor, Windows Vista.

But as businesses start planning to refresh their aging operating systems, there are a few key considerations to make. All too often, we miss huge opportunities to cut costs and optimize efficiencies during the refresh process. Here’s a look at what you need to know to ensure a hassle-free Windows 7 deployment.

First of all, are you ready?
Chances are you’ve wondered if your existing environment can handle Windows 7. Good news is the odds are in your favor. Leading up to the release, Softchoice performed an analysis of over 450,000 corporate PCs. Of those, 88 per cent met the minimum hardware systems requirements to run Windows 7 and 65 per cent met the optimal requirements.

“Since so few organizations made the switch to Vista, over ninety per cent of PCs have remained on Windows XP – an operating system about to celebrate its 10th birthday – and close to five percent are running operating systems that Microsoft no longer supports,” says Dean Williams, services Development manager for softchoice, and the author of the study.

System requirements aside, the risks and costs of maintaining aging infrastructure mean it’s a good time to consider moving to more current technology. And with so many organizations already entitled to free upgrades through Microsoft’s Software Assurance, cost is not the barrier many might imagine. [Read more...]