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• I respectfully disagree with those who think that Vista doesn't pose compatibility or ease-of-use issues. I work for an enterprise with an installed base of over 100,000 machines, with over 1,000 commercial-off-the-shelf software packages to migrate. Add to that a large number of custom home-grown applications written in a variety of languages. We have compatibility issues plenty and to spare. We also have users of all proficiency levels, from novices to experts. Frankly, for some of those users, learning their way around a new OS is a challenge.
  
  In addition to those issues, consider the cost for migrating all those systems. Many of them don't meet the minimum hardware requirements for Vista and can't be upgraded. So we can't roll out standardized desktop images of Vista until our machines are EOL and replaced. And we just can't afford to replace all of those machines right now.
  
  But the most important issue is the perceived need. There is little perceived value-added for an Enterprise by moving to Vista. It is a testament to the quality of the product Microsoft produced with XP that users feel no need to switch. Microsoft should abandon their current strategy of a rigid life-cycle for XP in favor of a subscription model. In fact, they should have done so long ago. Charge an annual fee for each license, with all of the volume discounts, etc. that they can do for enterprise customers, and entitle customers to use *any* Microsoft desktop O/S with the license - let them upgrade, downgrade, whatever, as they see fit.
  
  Not only would this resolve the issue of the "Microsoft Upgrade Treadmill" that Enterprise Customers *HATE*, but it also would mean a *steady* stream of revenue for Microsoft and less pressure to be rolling out sparkling new operating systems (replete with bugs) every three to five years. Instead, Microsoft could simply go to major releases, minor updates, and collect a steady stream of user fees. In reply to: "60 percent skipping Vista, so Ballmer looks to Apple"

  July 24, 2008

  2 replies