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Gartner Tells Businesses to Forget About Vista

Posted by timothy on from the whereas-9.04-to-9.10-is-not-bad dept.

Barence writes "IT analyst firm Gartner has told businesses to skip Vista and prepare to roll out Windows 7. Companies have traditionally been advised to wait until the first Service Pack of an operating system arrives before considering migration. However, Gartner is urging organisations that aren't already midway through Vista deployments to give the much-maligned operating system a miss. 'Preparing for Vista will require the same amount of effort as preparing for Windows 7, so at this point, targeting Windows 7 would add less than six months to the schedule and would result in a plan that is more politically palatable, better for users, and results in greater longevity.' Even businesses that are midway through planning a Vista migration are urged to consider scrapping the deployment. 'Consider switching to Windows 7 if it would delay deployment by six months or less.'"

28 of 309 comments (clear)

  1. Insightful analysis... four years late. by symbolset · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What Gartner is for is to tell us what Microsoft wants us to do.

    What insightful, cutting edge analysis this would have been... four years ago.

    The Gartner experts say all companies should move off Windows XP by the end of 2012 to avoid problems with application compatibility.

    I agree with this part... but do not agree about what companies should move to. It's time to get off the train to crazytown.

    --
    Help stamp out iliturcy.
    1. Re:Insightful analysis... four years late. by mangu · · Score: 5, Funny

      I agree with this part... but do not agree about what companies should move to.

      With Microsoft shooting themselves in the foot with Vista, the big question is how many feet they have. If the answer is "two", then windows 7 is their last bullet.

    2. Re:Insightful analysis... four years late. by Darkness404 · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Heck, MS has more feet then that. They shot themselves in the foot with Windows ME too, luckily for them they had the reasonably stable Windows NT ready to go out the door. I think the only reason why Windows 7 will succeed is that MS's hardware requirements are commonplace. For example with Vista, you had companies left and right selling laptops and desktops with the minimum specs needed for Vista, they would have been great XP machines, but for some unknown reason they put Vista on them, that totally killed its reputation (because for some reason people think its *normal* to require 1 GB to run an OS, which I don't understand).

      MS is swimming in money. On the other hand, they keep losing mindshare to Apple left and right.

      --
      Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
    3. Re:Insightful analysis... four years late. by mangu · · Score: 4, Informative

      MS is swimming in money

      That's relative. Their stock value, currently around $20, never again reached their peak of $60 after 2000.

      Their cash reserves aren't what they used to be, they spent two thirds of it trying to shore up the stock price, without result.

      Their revenues are dropping through the floor.

      It's a huge company that won't disappear so soon, but if you pay $40 billion in dividends and still have so much problem to get the stock price back to 30% of the peak...

    4. Re:Insightful analysis... four years late. by bonch · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I don't think Apple is interested in the netbook market because they consider the iPhone to be their portable computer.

    5. Re:Insightful analysis... four years late. by capnkr · · Score: 4, Insightful

      {snip}...certainly will happen when Win7 fails.

      One way for Microsoft to make it a Sure Thing: instead of having proper security be a simple 'best practice', continue to have it be simply The Most Expensive Option.

      FTFA -

      "AppLocker, meanwhile, gives companies granular control over the applications - right down to the version number - that employees can install on their office machines.
      "Both of these will require Windows 7 Enterprise Edition, available only to organisations with Software Assurance, or Windows 7 Ultimate," the Gartner analysts warn."

      Foot, meet bullet.

      This is not just something for corporate use. I have plenty of clients who would be glad to benefit from letting me use this tool on their systems (and boy would it make my job easier...). Parents could use it for the kids, geeks could use it on the systems they invariably get asked to fix for a buddy, etc... MS keeps getting their asses handed to them on the issue of basic security. When are they going to finally learn that they *need* to implement/make available good security across _all levels_ of their OS? The totally free software that I use has a bare fraction of both the potential and the real-world security problems MS OS'es have.

      So why does MS continue to act as if charging for security is a Good Thing, when it can so easily be had for free?
      And why don't more "expert tech analysts" call them out on this?

      Yeah, yeah - I know...

      --
      "...there are some things that can beat smartness and foresight. Awkwardness and stupidity can." ~ Mark Twain
    6. Re:Insightful analysis... four years late. by ozmanjusri · · Score: 4, Insightful
      So why does MS continue to act as if charging for security is a Good Thing, when it can so easily be had for free?

      Microsoft has a delicate balancing act to manage.

      There's a massive industry that's emerged to work around Windows' security deficiencies. Companies that collect malware in honeypots. Companies that generate malware signatures. Companies that write antivirus software. Companies that train users how to avoid Windows pitfalls. Businesses to monitor networks for intrusions. Businesses to repair or reinstall failed Windows machines. Security researchers, patch writers, forensic specialists... and so on, ad nauseum.

      There are millions of people kept in continuous employment just to protect and maintain Microsoft's OS, many of them the "expert tech analysts" you're asking to call Microsoft out. Unsurprisingly, those people are often Microsoft's most energetic supporters.

      Microsoft does not want to alienate their most ardent fans.

      --
      "I've got more toys than Teruhisa Kitahara."
    7. Re:Insightful analysis... four years late. by Spasemunki · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The stock price will likely not reach those heights again not because Microsoft is fundamentally in trouble, but because the market primarily values growth. Microsoft already owns a piece of damn near every computer in the world, so there's really nowhere to go but down; their non-core offerings have, at best, a checkered history and don't inspire confidence in investors.

      MS has been transitioning out of the 'growth' mold in the assessment of stock pickers for years. That's why the price is down, and is staying down. Paying out dividends is not a ploy to buoy the stock price, as the stock is already training at a premium way above the dividend value; paying dividends is just what a reasonable Board does in response to a huge excess of cash that can't be reasonably invested in growth. They're a publicly traded company and have to act in the interest of the shareholder.

      As to their revenues... they took modest losses in one of the worst economies since the Depression, during a period when their last major product release is several years in the mirror, and people are holding out on major purchases as the next one comes into view. That's a pretty enviable position to most companies.

  2. Gartner by sentientbeing · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Gartner is just a Microsoft lobbying group. Treat them as such.

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    beware he who would deny you access to information, for in his mind he dreams himself your master
    1. Re:Gartner by jcr · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Gartner is just a Microsoft lobbying group.

      I remember when Gartner was telling everyone that OS/2 would matter. It's not that they work for MS as such, it's that they're in the business of providing CYA documentation for anyone who wants to do what everyone else is doing.

      -jcr

      --
      The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
    2. Re:Gartner by marcello_dl · · Score: 4, Insightful

      sometimes you sacrifice something expendable for the result you want; the expendable concept is "vista sucks", which many people believe anyway. The result is "wait and buy win7" instead of "windows isn't dominant anymore, consider the alternatives"

       

      --
      ---- MISSING MISCELLANEOUS DATA SEGMENT --- [sigdash] trolololol
    3. Re:Gartner by ozmanjusri · · Score: 4, Informative
      I've only heard good about Windows 7 so far.

      Try it yourself then.

      I've used it long enough to get a feel for the OS, and would say it's not bad. Certainly feels better than Vista, but not as good as a well-sorted XP install.

      That's the main problem with 7 - it doesn't change anything significant about using a computer. It won't make your life easier or your work more productive. Sure there are some minor enhancements, but nothing you can't get on XP with a few freeware apps, and is is definitely more sluggish on the same hardware than XP.

      So in exchange for your couple of hundred dollars and a mandatory hardware upgrade, you get a whole lot of... not much at all, really.

      --
      "I've got more toys than Teruhisa Kitahara."
  3. In the Year 2015 ... by eldavojohn · · Score: 5, Funny

    Software Engineer: I sure am kind of on the fence about Windows 8, it's too quick and responsive ... I can't put my finger on it ...
    Systems Engineer: Not enough bloat? Maybe you just miss Windows 7?
    Software Engineer: No, it's not that ... it has the quality of that one before Windows 7 ...
    Systems Engineer: Windows XP?
    Software Engineer: No, there was something that happened briefly in between those two that Windows 8 feels like ...
    Systems Engineer: I don't know what you're talking about, we need to get back to work, here are all your requirements.
    Software Engineer: Vivid? Vivace? Something foreign sounding ...
    Systems Engineer: No, you idiot, shut up! Don't you remember the ...
    Software Engineer: VISTA!
    *men with guns in black clothing with Gartner symbols sewn into them storm from the Gartner door near the servers and slip bags over the two engineers' heads and drag them towards the exits; they are never heard from again*

    --
    My work here is dung.
  4. not really that insightful by Gary+W.+Longsine · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Insightful would be something like this: Businesses which are dependent on proprietary document storage formats like .doc, .xls, and .ppt, or upon Windows-only programming frameworks like Win32, .Net, or ASP should immediately begin migration to platform independent programming API and document storage formats.

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  5. Re:tell me again... by RiotingPacifist · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Home users - Security, UAC stops stuff running as admin.
    Business - erm,well,err...?

    --
    IranAir Flight 655 never forget!
  6. I've been saying this for... by Anarchduke · · Score: 5, Insightful

    For all the venom poured at the feet of Gartner, they are only saying what I have been saying since for months.

    Gartner is only giving advice that many IT analysts have been saying for quite some time. Skip vista, hold on to Windows XP, and wait for the next release before considering upgrading. Hardly a controversial statement, especially with Windows 7 due to go Gold by the holiday season.

    I know Slashdot has a tradition of instantly hating everything remotely associated with Microsoft, but Gartner is an IT firm that spends a great deal of time advising businesses on how to best implement Microsoft products. They aren't the Mouth of Sauron, speaking what the Eye of Mordor wants spoken.

    Honestly, Microsoft would really prefer that businesses upgrade to Vista now, then upgrade to Windows 7 a year from now. That means more money to them. Gartner is only giving common sense advise and saying, hold off on spending your money because Vista is dead end.

    Yes, we would all like to see more businesses switch to Linux, but that isn't going to happen very quickly, if at all. But if your company is thinking of migrating from XP to a more modern operating system, it would come as no surprise if the analyst they hired said, "don't go to Vista, wait for Windows 7".

    --
    who prays for Satan? Who in 18 centuries has had the humanity to pray for the 1 sinner that needed it most? ~Mark Twain
    1. Re:I've been saying this for... by rahvin112 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Honesty would be Gartner saying that Windows 7 is Windows Vista with a new coat of paint and that there is no real reason to upgrade to Windows 7. The press turned against Microsoft on Vista because of the IT backlash, but lets be honest they've bought the press lock stock and barrel on Windows 7. There isn't a damn thing different about Windows 7 and vista under the hood. The same things that Gartner and others blasted Vista for is being ignored with Windows 7. Microsoft must have paid the appropriate people really well in advance of the Windows 7 reviews because franly their's NO business incentive to upgrade from XP.

  7. Thanks, Shill! by drinkypoo · · Score: 4, Funny

    Gartner is telling us to pretend Vista never happened, just as Microsoft intends. But that's like seeing the original Highlander, then seeing Highlander 2... and then going to see Highlander 3! Why the fuck would you do that? You know it's going to be a let-down.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  8. Before you start the switch you should by ClosedSource · · Score: 4, Funny

    Immediately file for Chapter 11 because you might as well get all of the reorganization done all at once.

  9. Skoda tells me to buy a new Skoda by knarf · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Sony tells me I need a Blueray player, Philips says I should look into ditching that old coffee maker for one of those wasteful cartridge-thingies, Proctor and Gamble insists my hair needs Head and Shoulders, Gartner says we should consider buying the next Microsoft operating system. Since when do I care about what advertisers say?

    --
    --frank[at]unternet.org
  10. Re:Real Insight: Microsoft is also skipping Vista. by TheThiefMaster · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It doesn't emulate Vista because 7 is 100% Vista compatible. Nothing to emulate.

    There's a program compatibility option, and all it does is report "Vista" as the OS instead of 7.

  11. telling the obvious to the clueless by petes_PoV · · Score: 4, Insightful
    ... AND getting paid for it

    You've gotta respect the "analysts" at Gartner. Anyone who's read anything about PCs within the last year would have come to this conclusion. However, when you write it in a high-priced report, and present it in a pretty cover, some sort of Dilbert-ian logic takes over and the contents (whatever they happen to be) suddenly have the meaning, insight and authority that makes them worthy of directorial consideration.

    --
    politicians are like babies' nappies: they should both be changed regularly and for the same reasons
  12. XP Mode. by symbolset · · Score: 5, Funny

    XP Mode marries all the reliability and security of XP to the usability and device compatibility of Vista. Brilliant!

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    Help stamp out iliturcy.
  13. Re:tell me again... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    An upgrade to Windows 7 from XP brings a lot more than people think for businesses:

    BitLocker + a TPM means that a laptop theft basically becomes "just" a hardware theft, as opposed to hardware + data on it. A cost of a laptop is chump change compared to the revenue loss and loss of PR face when having to report that sensitive data was stolen to shareholders, the SEC, customers, and the press. BitLocker can also be used on workstations so a redeployment or sale of machines can be done without trashing the hard disks. Just a format command will do the job. (Vista's format.exe command explicitly overwrites the volume master key sectors, ensuring that recovery of any data even with a copy of the recovery info isn't going to happen.)

    A decent privilege model. Apps shouldn't demand admin or LocalSystem rights unless they need it. No, this isn't a magic bullet for security, but it is a great step in the right direction. XP also has this, but most developers still just write assuming that all users are in the Administrator's group.

    BitLocker To Go = those tons of USB flash drives are at least protected with some type of password that users write to (assuming the policy to require it before writing is allowed is set.) If user loses the password, the data is still recoverable.

    Better OS imaging. WIM is a lot more customizable than XP's imaging model. The only exception is the fact that even VLK editions of Vista require activation which make this a major thorn in the side of businesses, even with an internal KMS. You can make multiple corporate images and images can be used across CPU/HAL architectures, as opposed to having a specific image for a certain model Dell, another image for the HPs, and so on. Add some PXE support, and you can reimage a new or trashed machine with just a boot from the network, as opposed to the Ghost CD and an external hard disk.

    There are a number of under the hood things that Vista has that people don't notice which do improve security and reliability. ASLR, multiple privilege levels (like how IE8 runs in a pseudo-jail), background checking of disk filesystem integrity, volume snapshots, disassociation of Windows Update from Internet Explorer, and a good number of other security improvements.

    The activation issue is, in my personal experience, the second biggest reason why businesses stay with XP, the first being the issue of legacy drivers that don't work under Vista. I just don't get the point of activation in VLK editions. The BSA will rip a business to component atoms who is caught pirating, so activation doesn't ensure MS gets any more revenue than it does already in the business sector.

  14. Um... by sootman · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ... won't businesses wait for Windows 7 SP1 anyway?

    That said, every geek worth his salt (let alone any actual IT professional) should take advantage of the fact that MS will let you download and run the Release Candidate Customer Preview of Vista 7 Ultimate for free for a year. Works just fine in VirtualBox (also free, for Win, Lin, and OS X) as described here. Even if you hate MS for whatever reason, it's still worth knowing what they're doing, especially if you can do so for free on whatever platform you're (probably) currently using.

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  15. Re:Why migrate from XP to vista? by BenoitRen · · Score: 5, Funny

    Windows 32-bit has been able to address more than 4 GB of RAM for at least a decade now. You just weren't licensed to use it.

  16. Makes sense by thetoadwarrior · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Windows 7 is basically a service pack for Vista so it's not like you're moving to something completely different. You're moving to Vista as it should be.

  17. SAVE VISTA! by David+Gerard · · Score: 4, Funny

    Original blog post - Facebook group

    Microsoft has said it may ditch Vista the moment Windows 7 comes out. They've since backtracked - but we need to make sure they know our feelings.

    Windows 7 is CASTRATED APPEASEMENT to soy latte-sipping girly-men who wish they owned a Mac. We want a REAL operating system. An operating system that PERSONIFIES America's INDUSTRIAL MIGHT. That makes you feel AWE at the MAJESTY of the progress of its operation. VISTA is a monument to everything that makes us the country we are!

    Like Chrysler, like Hummer, like Edsel - "Vista" is a name that will be remembered as the greatest operating system in Microsoft's history.

    Just Say "No" To Seven -

    SAVE VISTA!

    We want ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND PEOPLE to join the Facebook group. So far we have about 80. TELL ALL YOUR FRIENDS!

    "I fully support this initiative. My computer business employs 200 people; the best possible thing for it is to make sure Vista continues and goes forward." - M. Shuttleworth, London

    "I can't tell you how much Vista has done for my business. So many people depend on it." - S. Jobs, Cupertino

    "Vista is the one thing that will keep people seeking out and using systems that are at the forefront of technology. It's been the best thing for all of us." - L. Torvalds, Portland

    "I'm ... I'm touched. *sob* I didn't think anyone cared. You guys. Developers! *sob*" - S. Ballmer, Seattle

    --
    http://rocknerd.co.uk