20 Jul 2010
Microsoft’s issue of its last security patch for PCs running Windows XP service pack 2 (SP2) last week has prompted many IT departments to re-evaluate their desktop upgrade strategies, with analyst Gartner saying that Windows 7 is the only sensible way to go.
Experts argue that although expensive, it is not a question of if, only when, Windows 7 migrations should be implemented ahead of Microsoft’s official termination of extended support for Windows XP in April 2014.
But any desire to upgrade or replace existing Windows XP or Vista PC fleets should be carefully assessed for cost, complexity and manpower implications before the final decision is made.
Many Computing readers say they are happy to stick with XP – despite the issues around data security, application compatibility and performance this approach may present – and can support the operating system (OS) themselves given the wealth of self-help material that is easily available.
“XP is a stable and mature OS. It has great hardware and software support and compatibility, and performance is great too,” said one. “Why on earth keep upgrading into oblivion? It is expensive, disruptive and unnecessary to upgrade to a new Windows version every time a developer feels like it.”
“Our company of 25,000 is still on XP because it is a mature and stable OS. Why switch unless there is a technical reason?” commented another.
However, Gartner Client Computing Group vice president Steve Kleynhans argued that those technical reasons are just around the corner.
He anticipates that third-party software vendors will start to drop support for XP in 2011/12, meaning many new versions of software will not run on the older OS, while hardware drivers for new hardware will not be written for XP either.
“There is enough difference between XP and Windows 7 to warrant different code bases for complex apps and hardware – at some point, vendors will simply turn off XP support,” he said. “If your PC environment is static and nothing is ever going to change and you are never going to buy a new PC, you can run whatever you want forever, but otherwise that is an issue.”
However, the cost of upgrading XP to Windows 7 is significant, and will require many organisations to redirect budget away from other IT projects.
Gartner estimates that the per-machine the cost of migrating from XP to Windows 7 in an organisation with 10,000 desktops or more will vary from $1,274 (£840) to $2,069 (£1,360) – up to 300 per cent more than migrating from the heavily criticised Windows Vista OS, which relatively few organisations installed because of performance concerns.
The exact bill will depend on whether new PCs are purchased or existing ones upgraded, with surprisingly little cost differential between the two owing to fluctuations in new hardware purchasing, software licensing, training, labour and support costs.
Significant savings on the cost of migrating to Windows 7 can be made according to how scrupulous the IT department has been in locking down users’ XP desktops to ensure hardware, OS and application standardisation across their PC estate.
Ways to reduce the bill include using so-called zero or light-touch PC deployment processes, tools and scripts, for example, whereby migrations can be completely or partially automated with minimum intervention of skilled technicians.
“Whenever you automate the process you take the human expense out of the process, which is the really big part of the cost,” said Kleynhans.
Apart from the high cost of the migration process itself, legacy applications that do not run on Windows 7 remain the primary stumbling block for many organisations. Desktop virtualisation tools that run them in virtual windows can help, as can proper testing tools that iron out hardware or application incompatibility issues before wholesale implementation of the new OS.
“Application compatibility is the one thing that stops people from rushing out and starting to upgrade, but it is the same whenever there is a significant change to any OS,” said Kleynhans. “Apps specifically written for Internet Explorer 6 (IE6) and those that use ActiveX controls are the most problematic, but there are other reasons why you should be working to get rid of those anyway, even without Windows 7.”
Poor security is certainly one, with IE6 having proved particularly vulnerable to hacker and malware attacks in the past. This is one reason why IT departments that have not already installed Windows XP SP3 should probably do so without delay, unless they have already firmed up Windows 7 migration plans.
I have to agree with Messrs. Kleynhans and Fisher. Migrations are are tricky, often impossibly so - and, from my experience, the right tools are instrumental to success. It could be something basic like USMT, or a full-scale solution like Zinstall XP7 (recently profiled by TechRepublic). The important thing is to plan carefully and thoroughly, on budget and for local specifics. Do that, and costs will be mitigated. Fail to do that - and you'll never finish the job.
Posted by: Tom Kelly 25 Jul 2010
Martin, you're absolutely right, enterprise migration to Windows 7 is an expensive business and with Microsoft's support for XP SP2 and 2000 now coming to an end - not to mention Windows 7 SP1 expected shortly - more organisations than ever are actively investigating the costs and weighing that up against what value the new OS will deliver in real terms.
The biggest challenge here lies with being able to accurately plan and budget for the cost of the migration and unfortunately, it's not always simple to do an ROI assesment. It can be a minefield, with business critical legacy or non-standard third-party applications often resulting in unforeseen work to get these applications running properly on the new platform. For many organisations, especially those with large application portfolios, the process of any major OS application migration may seem like a daunting undertaking.
For the majority of enterprises, the last major migration was to XP, which itself was a costly project - largely because much of the process was managed manually, one application at a time. Until the testing had been done it was not possible to assess the work required - and the testing could take hundreds or even thousands of days of work.
The difference this time around, however, is that the application compatibility testing and fixing process can be automated, removing the need for potentially thousands of skilled man-days over many months. By way of example, five leading FTSE 500 organisations spanning various vertical sectors have achieved upwards of $1.7 million dollars of cost savings each in their migrations, against standard manual applications testing over a three month time frame.
The value of being able to accurately plan for the costs associated with any enterprise migration of this scale can establish a proper ROI case upfront. In reality, with many organisations having chosen to skip Vista, a huge proportion will be investing in Windows 7 - and now is the time to be planning for that spend. With automated assessment testing, budgeting and planning can be simplified like never before - a simple and fast process that highlights exactly where challenges may arise before they materialise.
Ultimately, those organisations wanting to ensure their business-critical infrastructure and data is future-proofed should be actively looking to migrate to a supported OS - and the barriers to that are lower than ever before.
Posted by: John Tate, MD, ChangeBASE 23 Jul 2010
With Gartner predicting the per-machine cost of migrating from XP to Windows 7 being in the region of £1000, it is likely IT departments will have to re-direct budget away from other IT projects causing some strategic plans to be put on hold.
However, a simple way to off-set this cost is to reduce the time taken to roll out Windows 7 through automation.
There are tools readily available that can quickly, easily and reliably automate the migration process of any new operating system, including Windows 7.
Whether that is using discovery tools to automatically identify any incompatibilities with existing IT assets or accelerating the testing and deployment phases through the use of a central management system, which can also swiftly deploy any patches or hotfixes needed in the future.
This reduces the operational costs of the infrastructure as well as the burden on the IT department dramatically.
Matt Fisher, Director, FrontRange Solutions
Posted by: Matt Fisher, Director, FrontRange Solutions 21 Jul 2010
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