On November 30, 2006 Microsoft President Steve Ballmer held a press conference in New York City to formally announce the release of Microsoft’s Windows Vista operating system and their Office 2007 application suite to business customers who take advantage of Microsoft’s volume licensing. For the rest of Microsoft’s customers, the new software products will become available on January 30, 2007.
With the Microsoft marketing machine in high gear, expect the hype surrounding this software to continue to grow into February and March. The question then becomes “Do I need this for my small business?” Before that question gets answered, it’s prudent to explore just what this software means and what it takes to run it. At the centerpiece of the launch is Windows Vista; the replacement for Windows XP which has been in use since 2001.
According to Microsoft, the system requirements for Vista don’t look too daunting: 800 MHz processor with 512 MB of memory, at least 15 GB of free space on a minimum 20 GB hard drive with SVGA graphics. Clearly, Microsoft is referring to the minimum specifications. Bump the processor up to a GHz and the memory up to at least 1 GB and add 20 GB to the hard drive in order to achieve Microsoft’s recommendations for Vista. Still, reviewers claim that Vista runs better computers with plenty of computing horsepower. Most likely, consider new hardware purchases for machines purchased before 2005.
Now that the hardware issues are understood, what great benefit does the software itself offer? There has to be a tangible reason to make the upgrade. Microsoft offers several reasons starting with the buzzword of this decade, security. The security features which are standard with Windows Vista include an improved User Account Control system and built-in malware (spyware, adware, virus) protection. Will the new security features alone be enough to compel a small business to upgrade to Vista? Probably not, unless the small business already experienced a security breakdown.
Performance improvements include the ReadyBoost feature. ReadyBoost allows a Windows Vista machine to be able to use a single USB flash memory drive as a caching tool. Since USB memory is dropping in price, consider adding the recommended 2.5 times the amount of system RAM for Vista to utilize. The Windows XP Standby and Hibernate features have been replaced with a new Sleep option. It works a little differently depending on whether the computer is a desktop or laptop. In the desktop version of Sleep, anything in use is stored to both system RAM and hard drive. The concept should allow the computer come out of Sleep mode in a matter of 2 to 3 seconds. For laptops, Sleep works by storing data in RAM while battery power is sufficient. When the battery power level has diminished, the data is automatically transferred to disk for protection. Are these performance enhancements enough to compel a small business user to upgrade? Probably not.
The most attractive new feature in Windows Vista is the Aero interface. While not available to all machines based on their hardware capabilities, Aero allows the user to be able to view their Windows workspace in a whole new light. In addition, the Windows Flip and Windows Flip 3D offer new navigation tools to the user which improve the user experience by easing the navigation process. Are these visual enhancements by themselves enough for small business owners to take the Vista plunge? Probably not.
There are many other operating system improvements incorporated into Windows Vista such as improved backup, new explorer tools, a cool sidebar, simplified networking, search tools, and more. Not to mention, there are several different versions of Vista. However, most small businesses will likely focus on Vista Business.
With the launch of Windows XP, Microsoft promised users a more stable operating system. In that case, they delivered. For Windows Vista, Microsoft is pointing to a more secure platform. Recalling the service packs and continual updates for Windows XP, a more secure Windows in Vista would be a welcome situation for both users and small business IT support.
Taking all of the new features along with the concentration on security, will small business bite the bullet and allocate the necessary resources to implement Windows Vista? Some will, some won’t. For the small companies whose systems are nearing the end of their lifecycle, the path leads directly to Vista. For smaller firms who have just recently upgraded, expect more of a “we’ll get there” approach. Vista is a clear improvement over Windows XP, but small business common sense will make the decision as to the timing of Vista’s widespread adoption.
