Migrating to Windows 7

BANGALORE, INDIA: Windows 7 might have come up with some real performance boosts and become easier to install and use. But irrespective of that migrating a large desktop fleet to Windows 7 would still have its own set of challanges.

You must have a streamlined mechanism to migrate your desktops and laptops to Windows 7. The process of migrating to Windows 7 was discussed by Venkat Subramanium of Dell at the recently concluded Infrastructure SummIT.

Why upgrade?

Before discussing how to upgrade to Windows 7 and tackle the pain points, the first identify the need to upgrade. A few reasons that were highlighted were:

Improved productivity: Windows 7 makes it possible for users to work from any location, providing faster and easier access to their data and in a secure manner. Plus some of the nifty Aero effects are not just meant for flaunting but can also make some day to day tasks pretty quick.

Security and compliance: Windows 7 is better at protecting data and eliminating unwanted applications from the network. And if combined with Microsoft's NAP services it can give greater level of network security.

Improved manageability: Windows 7 is easier to manage, especially when combined with Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP).

Improved performance: Windows 7 is built on Vista and is more stable, runs faster and with less power than XP or Vista. At CyberMedia Labs we have done many tests comparing Windows 7 with other operating systems and have actually found out some real performance enhancements. You can find more information at http://tinyurl. com/pcqwin7.

Identify the pain points

Once you have decided to migrate, you need to keep the following in mind:

Platform stability: The first question would be, how do you make sure that the new platform is stable or not. And the easiest and safest answer to this question would be to become a follower instead of a leader while adopting these new products.

So, instead of jumping to deploy the new product give it some time to see how well it behaves. If not at enterprise level then check the performance at individual level (consumers of laptops and PCs).

Application migration: This is very important because if any of your key enterprise application stops working after the migration, then it could be disastrous. And after the release of Windows Vista we saw this happen quite often.

To make sure such unknown issues don't come up after migration, There are solution providers, who claim they will first test your business applications before doing the migration.

Venkat mentioned that Dell provides such solutions where they not only test your applications for compatibility before migration, but also provide you a report which categorizes applications in three groups: Green (will work in Windows 7), Amber (Will work with some customization or tweaking) and Red (will not work). Hence you can decide your priority before going for the migration.