Windows 7 Migration
Windows 7 Migration: What Will It Really Cost? (Psst: Less Than You Think)
Last week I told you about the Gartner Group report that predicted higher migration costs for enterprises that delay their Windows 7 migration. Speaking...
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Last week I told you about the Gartner Group report that predicted higher migration costs for enterprises that delay their Windows 7 migration.
Speaking of predictions, I also told you that the inevitable result of that report would be any number of "Windows 7 Migration Costs Will Ruin Businesses!" headlines--and, sure enough, that's what happened.
Witness Mary-Jo Foley's Gartner: IT shops moving to Windows 7 need a 20 to 60 percent PC budget increase. That is patently untrue, an extremely poor choice of words, and a prime example of why there's so much mistrust of the media these days.
Thankfully, ZDNet's Ed Bott--always the voice of reason when stuff like this happens--cuts through the bull with some real-world reporting on what the Gartner report means--and how many bloggers (including Foley, his colleague) got it wrong. Read this:
As the report makes clear, the PC budget typically represents only 15% of a typical IT budget, which means that a 20-60% increase in the PC budget actually represents an overall increase of only 3% (best case, according to Gartner) or 9% (worst case). And given the numbers I calculated, companies that began planning for migration three years ago and invested in advanced deployment tools could actually see their PC costs drop, percentage-wise, during the course of this migration.And let's remember: Gartner's guess that a shortage of qualified Windows-migration IT staffers will (in 2011 and 2012) lead to higher costs for businesses is exactly that: a guess. Another possible outcome: the strong demand for Windows 7 deployment leads to more IT jobs, more qualified professionals, and lower costs. That being said, I still think the smart move is to start (or, hopefully, continue) your migration efforts immediately, because the sooner you make the move to Windows 7, the faster you'll recoup your investment.
