The drumbeat begins – Will enterprises really skip Windows 8?

Why enterprises will skip Windows 8” and it’s by Robert L Mitchell of ComputerWorld. An excerpt:

Enterprise IT had a good business case for moving off the nearly decade old Windows XP operating system and onto the more modern Windows 7. Windows 8 is shaping up to be a different story. The world doesn’t know much about Windows 8 right now, but one thing is clear: The transition from Windows’ traditional desktop user interface (UI) to the new, touch-based Metro UI will make for a rocky transition. Fresh from a Windows 7 upgrade that has moved corporate Windows desktops into the current decade, IT is likely skip Windows 8, even if consumers embrace it. The effect of even small changes to the desktop UI in enterprise adoption can’t be overstated. Vista introduced moderate changes to the UI that forced a jarring adjustment upon some enterprise users. For example, the new File Explorer, with its concept of libraries, was lost on many workers. Other changes that might seem subtle to more sophisticated information workers, such as the new taskbar, also confused. Paul Shane, IT director at the Philadelphia office of Milliman Inc., said that as he rolled out Windows 7 in the enterprise last year, many users even had trouble navigating the new Start menu. “If it’s not a shortcut on the desktop, they’re in trouble,” he said. Vista had other issues, of course, and IT waited for Microsoft to get it right with Windows 7 before moving forward.

It’s going to be interesting to see how many others start to warn about the lack of Enterprise adoption for Windows 8. On the other hand, they made the same arguments about Windows 7 and it seemed to work out OK. Read the full article here…]]>