100 MILLION MICROSOFT VISTA CUSTOMERS CAN’T BE WRONG, CAN THEY?

With the launch of Microsoft’s new operating system, Windows Vista, ramsac, a leading IT solutions consultancy based in Surrey, is advising businesses to think twice before making an immediate upgrade.

Microsoft operating systems provide the IT foundations for nine out of ten PC’s and laptops. Microsoft predicts that 100 million computers will be running on Vista worldwide within the next 12 months, but the research group Forrester suggests that many businesses will be waiting some time before they upgrade. Robert May is the Managing Director of ramsac and he sheds light on the reason for postponing, “Moving to Vista requires an investment, and many businesses are unsure of what return it can offer them, over and above the Microsoft system that they are currently using, for example Windows XP.”

May cites a further three reasons for businesses to bide their time, “The more Vista is used the more bugs will be found and flushed out and the better it will get. There is no technical need for most users to upgrade right away, so it’s worth waiting a little while for any issues to be ironed out. In addition, it will take time for third party software houses to catch up with the new Microsoft system and ensure the applications they develop are fully compatible, users that upgrade early risk running into compatibility issues with other software on their network. Finally, any changes to the computers people use in their daily working life can have a knock on effect on productivity and so such a transition needs to be accompanied with the appropriate training.”

The Microsoft Gold Certified ramsac will be working with its customers to advise on the benefits Vista can deliver to their businesses, such as the many improved security functions, as well as how and when they should start making the upgrade. Even if businesses are not planning to change to Vista in the foreseeable future it needs to be incorporated into their IT plans. “Vista requires a certain system specification for it to operate and it is therefore advisable to conduct an audit of the current computer hardware to check that it will be able to run the new Operating System. In addition, when buying any new hardware you should ensure it is labelled ‘Windows Vista Capable.” We would also suggest that companies should consider introducing one or two machines early on, to allow some internal testing to take place with a couple of network users – this will greatly help to spot any potential issues before upgrading the whole network” concludes May.

For Images to accompany this news release, please contact the ramsac press office on 01962 888 100