Preparing Your Business for Microsoft Windows 7
As a part of our commitment to providing sound IT advice and quality solutions to businesses, we offer a free, no obligation Windows 7 consulting session to discuss what it can do for your business.
Considerations for adoption of a new operating system
It is one of the unavoidable facts of life with computer systems that things are always changing. There are new versions of software to enable a myriad of new tasks to be undertaken, and the operating system that this software operates on is no different. Whether you are a Windows, Mac, or Linux user, things are always changing.
With the release of Microsoft Windows 7, it is timely to discuss how best to prepare your business computing environment to work with the new Microsoft Windows 7 Operating System.
Ensure your computer hardware will support the operating system
Following the release of Microsoft Windows Vista, there were some very well publicized issues around the usability and hardware requirements of the new system. The official system requirements for Microsoft Windows 7 are:
1 GHz processor (32- or 64-bit)
1 GB of RAM (32-bit); 2 GB of RAM (64-bit)
16 GB of available disk space (32-bit); 20 GB of available disk space (64-bit)
These are recommended minimum specifications, which usually mean that the system will run, but won't perform especially well under any kind of application load. This was the case with Windows 2000, Windows XP, and definitely Windows Vista.
It is quite refreshing to find that the specifications for Microsoft Windows 7 appear to be accurate. The new Microsoft Windows 7 operating system is very quick and responsive on relatively lowly spec'd computers.
Review your business applications to ensure compatibility
Application compatibility is one of the driving factors behind companies retaining Windows XP as their primary operating system. Microsoft has released their Application Compatibility Toolkit to enable businesses to analyze their line of business applications for those which may prove problematic on a new Microsoft Windows 7 operating system.
Desktop virtualization
Microsoft Windows 7 offers a feature called "XP Mode". XP Mode is a virtual machine running Windows XP which is enabled to publish incompatible applications to the Microsoft Windows 7 desktop. All processing is undertaken on the virtual machine, but it appears seamlessly within Microsoft Windows 7. The implication of this is that applications with no compatible version need not be upgraded.
The Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) is a suite of technologies available as a subscription for Software Assurance customers. MDOP helps to improve compatibility and management (App-V/MED-V), reduce support costs (DEM/DaRT), improve asset management (AIS) and improve policy control (AGPM).
Review your management strategy for client computers
When upgrading or changing operating systems, it is important to consider how your IT staff is going to manage the new system.
When Microsoft Windows Vista was released, there were a number of patches required to Active Directory to allow for Vista Clients to be managed with Group Policy. When Windows Server 2008 was released, there was a patch required by Windows XP to allow clients to be managed properly by the new Server Operating System.
Will you computing environment support the new Microsoft Windows 7 operating system without changes to the back-end? In a larger environment, does your management product (System Center Configuration Manager\other) fully support deployment of the new system?
Select which version of the operating system is right for your business
As with Microsoft Windows Vista, there are a number of different versions of Microsoft Windows 7 being released. The business versions of the operating system are "Windows 7 Business", "Windows 7 Ultimate", and "Windows 7 Enterprise". When purchasing PC and Laptop equipment, be sure to get the business class versions. With previous versions of Windows, a number of vendors sold equipment with Windows XP Home, or Vista Home series, which have limited functionality for business use.
It is also important to consider the licensing to be used (KMS vs MAK) and the requirements around them.
Customizing and deploying Windows 7
Microsoft Windows 7 can be customized and deployed to your business with a number of tools. Some of these are free, and some of them are not. Your IT Administrator should know about most of them and what they do.
For more information about Microsoft Windows 7, and how to get it in your business computing environment, get in touch with the team at Leapfrog Technology Group and we can arrange for an onsite demonstration and set up a pilot program.
