Less than 1,000 days to end of support deadline for
Microsoft Windows XP, organisations across the globe are reporting they are
accelerating their migration to modern desktops powered by Windows 7, has given
rise to virtualisation.
ITRealms Online recalls that April 8, 2014 has been
documented as the deadline for Microsoft to offer support on its Windows XP.
This follows reported high level of awareness among these
organisations of desktop virtualisation’s potential to simplify the move to a
new operating system such as Windows 7 is driving their decision to invest.
These were some of the key findings of a commissioned study
conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Dimension Data on the desktop
virtualisation market.
According to the study, of the 546 organisations that were
surveyed, close to half (46 per cent) showed that they had begun ‘aggressive
efforts’ to migrate to Windows 7, with a further 17 per cent planning to deploy
within the next year.
While 13 per cent of companies said they had completed their
enterprise-wide migrations, 51 per cent of Information Technology (IT) managers
surveyed said they have linked their Windows 7 migrations to their
organisation’s Personal Computers (PC) refresh cycle.
“Around 21 per cent of enterprises are prioritising desktop
and application virtualisation over their Windows 7 upgrade, and 29 per cent
are deliberately overlapping their investments in Windows 7 and desktop
virtualisation,” he said.
Reacting to this development, the General Manager, Microsoft
Solutions, Dimension Data West Africa, Mr. Jide Agbaje, said organisations that
have not initiated plans to migrate to Windows 7 are under increasing pressure
to beat the Windows XP end-of-support deadline.
“Of somewhat greater concern is the fact that independent
software vendors (ISVs) will soon discontinue developing applications for
Windows XP, while hardware vendors support drivers other than those designed
for XP,” he said.
He also said that other organisations surveyed numbered 22 per cent, noted they
do not have a Windows 7 deployment plan in place, and another 13 per cent were
uncertain how long their deployments will take.
Remmy Nweke
ITREALMS Online ... delivering news for ICT4D
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