Migrations to Windows 7 and Virtual Desktops in rapid growth!

Four out of ten are delivering migration projects on time and on budget 


A survey of close to 1000 IT professionals in the Nordics conducted by software company RES Software shows that eight out of ten businesses have decided to roll out Windows 7, and almost half will roll out virtual workspaces by the end of the year. Migrating user profiles is considered the biggest challenge.


The survey shows that almost eight out of ten companies are planning to migrate to Windows 7 (W7), with the same amount having purchased licenses already. 34 percent have already rolled it out, and almost four in ten indicate that they have a few selected users up and running the operating system. 65 percent do not have any tools or procedures to migrate back from W7 on challenges arise.

“According to IDC over half of all businesses will migrate to W7 at the end of the year. The big challenge is that user settings and preferences disappear unless procedures are in place. This leads to large additional charges," said Ole-Kristian Sivertsen at RES Software.


Eight out of ten believe analysis and design of the platform will take up to six months, with the remaining using more time. For application testing, 75 percent believe that this will also take the same amount – up to six months. 40 percent indicated that they will spend more than six months on the actual roll-out. Migrating user profiles, downtime and lost productivity, lack of knowledge of the user environment and potentially disgruntled users are the biggest concerns.

“To deliver the same desktop environment is a necessity for a migration. We want to make it easier, safer and cheaper to manage users' desktop environments. Migrations are not difficult if you have the right tools. The process should take place without the users being affected, "says Sivertsen.

50% have decided to roll out virtual workspaces from Citrix or VMware. 45 percent by the end of the year, another 20 percent set in 2011.

"This confirms what many people know. Virtual workspaces are one of the biggest growth rockets in the market. The results show that customers have realized the many advantages of the concept. It is positively surprising that so many say they should have it in place during the fall, " says Sivertsen.


Nordic findings

The survey was also conducted in the Swedish and Danish market. Number of respondents in these two markets were almost 300 in total. Although the answers to a large extent aligned, there are also some interesting differences:

• The Swedes are on top in the decision to roll out W7 (85 percent)Four out of ten Danish companies have rolled out W7, compared with three out of ten Norwegian and Swedish
• 50 percent of Norwegian companies have taken the decision to roll out virtual workspaces. In Sweden and Denmark four out of ten have made the decision
• Four out of ten Danish companies have not decided when the deployment of virtual workspaces to happen (six out of ten will be in place by the end of next year s). Just over half of Swedish companies will have it in place by the end of 2011
• Half of the Swedish migration projects are delivered on time and on budget. Similarly, Norway and Denmark were ten percent lower
• The Danes set a higher degree of planning for emergency preparedness plans / tools for the transition back from W7 (rollback)
• Norwegian companies will use the shortest time on analysis and design of W7, the Swedes the most
• Danes calculated shortest time to application and functionality testing (55 percent in under three months)
• Half of Danish enterprises will have deployed the W7 to all users within three months. The Swedes will take the best time, probably because they have many special adaptations and tailoring to the user environment
• Danish and Norwegian companies believed that the migration of user profiles will provide them with as many challenges. The Swedes were most worried about downtime and lost productivity. Other special concerns across the region were: Many tedious manual processes, dissatisfied users, the migration at the expense of more strategic initiatives and whether users would have the same permissions, the rights and programs as they had before migration
• When asked about their thoughts on migrations, most respondents emphasized strongly that it is mission critical. About 15 per cent in each country believed migrations are fun. Between ten and 20 percent thought it was a necessary evil

About the Survey 
The web-based survey was conducted from Nordic end-users in July 2010 with nearly a thousand answers. 676 people answered the survey in Norway. Seven out of ten worked in the private sector. More than half had more than 500 IT users in the business. Half were architects or IT consultants. 20 percent were IT or operations manager. In Sweden, 179 people answered the survey. Seven out of ten came from the private sector. 55 percent from businesses with fewer than 1,000 IT users. In Denmark, there was 111 responses. Eight out of ten from the private sector, and seven out of ten had fewer than a thousand users in the IT environment.

About RES Software
RES Software is the market leader in solutions for the management of Microsoft-based user groups. The company operates development in administration of physical and virtual client solutions, and supports all types of customers of all sizes to reduce costs associated with the operation and management of desktop environment. Customers get a better ability to manage complex client and user groups more easily, and simultaneously meet demands from users who need personal and dynamic desktop environment regardless of time and place. RES Software supports both physical and virtual desktop solutions, and our patented technology makes it easier to manage, automate and deliver secure, personalized and innovative user experiences. For more information, follow us on Twitter @ RES Software and visit our website: www.ressoftware.com