For millions of PC users who questioned the necessity or wisdom of migrating from Windows XP to Vista in 2006, Microsoft’s 2009 introduction of Windows 7 represented an opportunity for important computing benefits. Without question, the new operating system is a big improvement over XP, so it makes sense to make the migration — especially since the end to XP support is on the horizon. But whether IT organizations are upgrading to Windows 7 from XP or Vista, there are some key issues that must be addressed and overcome in order to smooth the migration and make their users’ experience a positive one.
Of course, for IT decision-makers, moving to Windows 7 is a matter of “how” rather than “if.” Even many of the most hard-core XP adherents understand that Windows 7 is a significant upgrade in such important areas as security, performance and design. And, if those benefits aren’t compelling enough, there’s the harsh reality that XP will no longer be supported come 2014, so you should already be deep into the process of at least planning your migration strategy.