An Operating System Isn't Just for Christmas

During a keynote address last week at Computex 2009 in Taipei, Microsoft’s Steve Guggenheimer (VP of Microsoft’s OEM Division) announced that Windows 7 will be Released To Manufacturing (RTM) in the second half of July this year, and that General Availability (GA) is planned for 22 October 2009. During the announcement, Mr. Guggenheimer also said: “we’ve received great feedback from our partners who are looking forward to offering Windows 7 to their customers in time for the holidays.”

Although Microsoft Windows has been around for well over 20 years (Windows 1.01 shipped in November 1985), Windows 7’s lineage only stretches back 16 years to October 1993 and the introduction of Windows NT 3.1. Despite Microsoft’s branding of its new operating system, Windows 7 is in fact Version 6.1 (the ‘ver’ command indicates that Release Candidate 1 is in fact Version 6.1.7100); just a point-release from Windows Vista, which shipped as Version 6.0 under the covers. However, the important thing to recognise is that Windows 7 is a ‘full release’ on from Windows XP, which shipped nearly eight years ago in October 2001 as Version 5.1.

Although Windows 7 is considered an incremental upgrade to Windows Vista and the consumer market, for most businesses and institutions Windows 7 will in fact be a major upgrade. With Windows XP now into the ‘Extended Support’ phase of Microsoft’s product support lifecycle, and Windows Vista failing to capture the interest of corporate IT managers, it falls to Windows 7 to pick up from where Windows XP left off. Unless, that is, Microsoft comes up with another desktop offering between now and April 2014 when Extend Support for Windows XP comes to an end.

The real business benefits for most organisations of an upgrade or migration to Windows 7 will come through the new applications and possibilities afforded by the operating system. For IT management and Compliance Officers, Windows 7 offers real opportunities to address operational issues and information security risks and threats.

From an IT department’s perspective, AppLocker (application control policies), BranchCache (think Content Delivery Network (CDN) for the enterprise), and DirectAccess (VPN-less access to corporate data, applications, and system) are the features to taker a closer look at; while BitLocker and BitLocker To Go address issues relating to the preservation of information confidentiality, integrity, and availability – especially where mobile workers are concerned.

Of all of the new technologies to ship with Windows 7, Windows XP Mode (XPM) is perhaps the most intriguing. Consisting of a virtual PC-based environment and a fully licensed copy of Windows XP Service Pack 3, XPM utilises processor-based virtualisation technology to run legacy applications directly on the Windows 7 desktop rather than through a separately hosted virtual machine. This is a significant step forward in the evolution of Microsoft Windows, as it effectively creates a bridge from the ‘old world’ of legacy Windows applications to the new world of whatever Microsoft decides to do next.

Although Microsoft is very much a purveyor of software to the enterprise market, its link with the consumer market is still as strong as ever. This being the case, Microsoft’s timetable for Windows 7 is, not surprisingly, very much attuned to consumer buying patterns. With the global recession and weak consumer spending hitting Microsoft and its ecosystem hard, Windows 7 has to be ‘ready’ in plenty of time for the Christmas holiday season. But is it fully-baked and ready for the enterprise market? Well, in my opinion I think it very nearly is. However, I would advise corporate IT managers to wait for the first Service Pack before embarking on any major roll-outs. In the meantime, organisations should thoroughly test and evaluate what is likely to become the PC operating system of the next decade.