60pc of Biz Avoiding Win 7

Despite Microsoft's hopes for Windows 7, most companies are likely to pass on the system entirely, a study today suggests. Of the more than 1,000 companies involved in the ScriptLogic investigation, 60 percent say they have no plans to upgrade at all, while 34 percent don't expect to move on the platform until sometime in 2010. Only 5.4 percent actually plan to update in 2009.

The blame for the hesitation is equally spread between economic and software concerns. About 42 percent say cutbacks have precluded upgrading to the new OS, but almost as many at 39 percent have cited compatibility fears as their reasons to avoid the new release. Windows 7 is founded on the same basic code base as Vista and therefore shares many, though not all, of the problems running software that refuses to run in any version later than XP.

Microsoft has taken to introducing a virtualized copy of Windows XP in Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate in a bid to placate these customers, but may have little success based on the findings.

While it remains to be seen whether the results are wholly accurate, a rough translation of these to practical sales could be harmful to Microsoft. It saw an extremely rare revenue drop in the early portion of the year that revolved significantly around poor Vista uptake in business as well as resistance to run Vista on netbooks that can't run the demanding OS smoothly.

By Electronista Staff

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computers, industry, software, Microsoft, Windows 7