By Betty Junod, Director of Product Marketing, End-User Computing, VMware
Are you migrating your company’s desktops from Win XP to Win 7? Are you wondering if you’re doing it right or possibly doing something wrong that could lead to trouble down the road? Do you feel like you’re strapping on your hard hat every time you come into work?
A recent survey of 322 desktop administrators who have been involved in migrating from Win XP to Win 7 sheds interesting light into the impact, problems and opinions related to managing and executing this type of project.
The key findings from the survey include:
1) 64 percent of enterprises still need to migrate off Win XP (see how they compare to medium and small businesses, in the chart below)
2) Security and compliance were the main drivers of migration (see what the top 3 drivers were, in the chart below)
3) 92 Percent of companies faced migration challenges (see the top 3 problems desktop admins faced, in the chart below)
4) Companies that purchased new tools to help with the migration experienced over 50% fewer challenges than those using free tools from Microsoft (see how the surprising gap breaks down in different scenarios, in the chart below)
5) 83 Percent of desktop administrators reported being negatively impacted by the migration project (see what the top 3 impacts were to desktop admins, in the chart below)
So as you tackle your OS migration, think about these insights and how you might be able to avoid some of the challenges others who have gone before you have faced. Some guidelines can also be found in an earlier blog I wrote “Five Key Considerations Before Starting Your Windows XP Migration.”
Do any of the experiences expressed in the charts below resonate with you and your organization? Let us know by sharing your comments. Also, feel free to continue the conversation on Twitter and Facebook.
Company Impact
1) 64 percent of enterprises still need to migrate off Win XP
· 64 percent of enterprise companies still need to migrate off of Win XP
· 52 percent of mid-sized companies still need to migrate off of Win XP
· 61 percent of SMBs still need to migrate off of Win XP
2) Security and Compliance Drove Migration
Top 3 Reasons Companies Migrated
· 56 percent – Security updates
· 51 percent – Compliance requirements
· 49 percent – Corporate Mandate
3) 92 Percent of Companies Faced Migration Challenges
· 49 percent experienced user downtime
· 38 percent had Win XP applications that didn’t work with Win 7
· 37 percent user acceptance/training
4) Companies that purchased new tools to help with the migration experienced over 50% fewer challenges than those using free tools from Microsoft
IT Impact
5) 83 Percent of Desktop Administrators reported being negatively impacted by the migration project
- 47 percent worked weekends
- 44 percent worked evenings
- 37 percent put other projects on hold
