The launch of Windows Vista earlier this year resulted in businesses wondering how necessary it was to upgrade computers, and in turn, make a large investment into its IT infrastructure. Robin Parkinson, Director of Escape Business Technologies, discusses the issues with new technology and explains why some businesses should keep the IT set up already in place.

At the moment, most computers run on Microsoft XP (the main operating system which controls all of the functions of your computer) although earlier this year, Microsoft Vista was launched with the intention of providing a more secure and robust package. Many businesses haven’t converted to Vista due to the cost of upgrading and compatibility issues – aware of this, Microsoft has now extended the life of Microsoft XP into 2008. With this in mind, many businesses simply don’t understand why they have to deal with any upgrade at all if their current setup works.

According to a study by Softchoice, 94 per cent of computers do not meet the system requirements for Vista – therefore, time and money needs to be spent before the new package can even be installed. The new Vista operating system has nine options for how to turn off your computer (which apparently took 25 Microsoft developers over a year to create) – this feature rings alarm bells for many IT managers and means teething problems are more than likely increased.

The problem with new technology is compatibility – an issue that was highlighted earlier this year when computer makers such as Dell had to make a u-turn due to customer requests and lack of demand for the new system. Dell decided to unveil new XP computers instead of the planned new Microsoft Vista due to several older applications not running on the new system.
Responding to similar requests from small and medium businesses, Dell also promised to continue offering XP computers for the business segment until later this summer. Manufacturers will not be able to keep selling XP systems indefinitely, however. Microsoft will stop supplying computer makers with the software early next year, forcing all new Windows systems to run Vista.

With the problems surrounding the upgrading of our computers, the question remains whether we should be buying the latest technology if what we have is still working. Like Windows XP, if it does what you require and if you are able to browse the web, get work done day to day, there really isn’t a reason to upgrade. The worst mistake a company can make is to upgrade different computers at different stages – either decide to update every PC or wait until you are ready and be aware of the effect moving to Vista could have on your business.

Even though Microsoft is already telling users to upgrade as soon as possible, a lot can be said for staying with what works best for you. Why fix it if it isn’t broken? However, sooner or later, businesses won’t have a choice and will be forced to upgrade, but being aware of the problems, you are already one step ahead.