Firms still wary of Vista

Most IT managers are still unsure about Windows Vista and will not be seriously considering adopting the operating system until 2008 at the earliest, after the release of the first service pack of updates (SP1).

Forrester Research found, in an informal survey, that companies are concerned with issues such as software incompatibility and hardware upgrades, and that they have a comfortable familiarity with older Windows versions.

Many of those surveyed complained that the late-summer launch of System Center Configuration Manager 2007, an upgrade for Systems Management Server (SMS), as another reason they have not started to move to Vista.

Forrester analyst Ben Gray conducted the survey, a follow-up to a larger survey released in May which found that over 50 per cent of US and European IT managers said they planned to upgrade to Vista within two years. The current findings, although not statistically valid, seem to suggest that many are now holding off.

“Many of the IT pros we've spoken with feel like they've just completed their OS migration project and are wary of starting a new one anytime soon,” he said.

One of the key Vista hold-ups for the IT managers surveyed is that Vista’s compatibility with their existing software applications ranged from just 60 per cent to 90 per cent.

Gray said things should pick up after the arrival of Vista SP1 next year, which promises better security, more drivers for peripherals and software updates for improved performance and administration.