Migration Questions? Ask Dell

Migration Expert Zone

Dell recommends Windows 7®

Howard M. Cohen

Howard M. Cohen is the chief blogger here at Migration Expert Zone. He has 30 years of IT channel executive experience, and he writes extensively on IT topics including virtualization, infrastructure, cloud, and desktop management. We hope you find his real-world insights and observations on Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 migration projects invaluable for your organization’s migration and deployment plans. He has written previously for VARBusiness, Redmond Channel Partner, Microsoft, and many top solution providers. Howard is also a U.S. Board member—and New York City Chapter President—of the International Association of Microsoft Channel Partners.

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Windows Migration Blogfeed

  • Bigger Clouds on the Horizon

    Every technology has its own specific “holy grail,” and for servers in this second decade of the second millennium, it’s called “VM density.”  In the first round of the virtualization rev...

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  • Rapid Migration Tool for Microsoft Dynamics GP

    Even for a small company, migrating from one Enterprise Resource Management (ERP) solution to another is a major undertaking.  You’re talking about changing the way your company does busines...

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  • Migrating to Windows Small Business Server 2011

    Microsoft Windows Small Business Server (SBS) was designed to bring enterprise-class services and server technology to small businesses of 75 or fewer users.  With powerful features and ser...

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  • Migrations Yet to Come

    Break out your planning calendars.  Our friends at Redmond Channel Partner magazine recently published The 2012 Microsoft Product Roadmap, which is absolutely worth a look from anyone who i...

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  • Cloud: A Migration of Integration, Part 2

    Flexibility and Agility Perhaps the greatest advantage of this migration to integrated services is that we can change our minds, change our strategies, and change the component services that co...

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  • Cloud: A Migration of Integration, Part 1

    We use the marketing term “cloud computing” to describe a broad category of relatively new services that can be used to deliver higher performance at lower costs than the services we host and mai...

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  • BioWare Improves Workflow with Dell Fluid Data

    Dell introduced new updates and releases in software, storage, networking, and application-specific appliances at its Dell Storage Forum last week.  All were part of Dell’s “Fluid Data” init...

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  • IPv6: Addressing the Migration Challenge

    The opening paragraph of a Microsoft Windows Server® 2008 White Paper entitled “IPv6 Transition Technologies” begins by warning us that, “Protocol transitions are not easy and the transition fro...

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  • Ahh, for the Good Old Config

    This post is probably going to serve as yet another good reason to migrate to VDI, but that’s beside the point. Recently, I discovered that a shiny new browser had managed to sneak onto my lapt...

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  • Which Exchange Will You Be Exchanging for Exchange?

    In our never-ending quest for new and better tools to expedite Exchange migration, we came across a press release announcing Binary Tree’s release of E2E Complete 3.0. One interesting new ...

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  • Which Windows, When?

    In our December 15, 2011 post, we reported on a study indicating that Windows XP was still the OS of choice for the majority of Windows users. While Windows 8 won’t be released in beta until Feb...

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  • Converting Physical Machines to Virtual in SCVMM

    IT departments are reducing their costs as well as their physical and carbon footprints by virtualizing server workloads.  In many cases, this calls for the conversion from physical machines...

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Why Dell

  • Microsoft Windows 7 and Office Key Initiative Overview

    To avoid disruptions, CIOs and IT leaders must position their organizations to complete a migration to Windows 7 in a timely and cost-effective manner. But, as they work through the preparation and deployment processes, they will be confronted by a host of challenges and risk. In this research paper, Gartner research presents tools, best practices and policies to reduce Windows 7 and Office 2010 migration costs by as much as 50%.

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  • Dell ProConsult Windows 7 Readiness Assessment

    To capitalize on the benefits of Windows 7, you must make sure your computing environment is ready for the upgrade. The Dell Windows 7 Readiness Assessment is designed to identify application compatibility, hardware compatibility and migration readiness, and to provide the recommendations needed to help make your transition to Windows 7 as smooth as possible.

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  • CIO Strategies for End User Computing: Maximizing Productivity without Sacrificing Security

    Advances in mobility and client computing technology combined with the ubiquity of social media are creating a culture of constant connectivity and anywhere access to information. As these trends extend into the work place Dell recommends CIOs proactively respond by creating a cost effective 3-5 year strategic plan for end user computing that enables increased end user productivity while maintaining IT control, and helps mitigate security threats.

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  • Windows 7 migration challenges and best practices for large enterprise and public sector - Dell Whitepaper from Forrester Research

    Today, IT managers worldwide are accelerating their efforts toward planning for and migrating to Windows 7, and the next 12 to 18 months will be critical. In fact, Forrester Consulting recently completed an online survey of 200 large enterprise and public sector organizations in the US, Canada, and the UK with 1,000 or more employees, commissioned by Dell, concerning their migration plans for Windows 7, and the study found that 93% of firms planned on completing their enterprise-wide migrations before 2014. But firms are facing a number of migration challenges. To learn more about ways to overcome these challenges and to find out what the study revealed about how to increase chances for a better Windows 7 migration, read this whitepaper.

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  • CIO Strategies for Consumerization: The Future of Enterprise Mobile Computing

    IT consumerization, workforce mobility and flexible computing are changing the relationship between enterprise IT, knowledge workers and end users. For the CIO, IT consumerization represents the confluence of a difficult set of challenges (security, technology policy, data protection, end-user technology) and business strategy (new business models, talent strategy, corporate brand and identity). Learn about five trends that are shaping the future of enterprise mobility, and get nine recommendations for the new era of enterprise mobility. Finally, learn how Dell is uniquely prepared to help customers embrace and manage consumerization and the challenges and risks that come with consumerization-related changes.

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  • Avoiding the 8 Common Mistakes of Windows 7 Migration

    The recession put important things on hold for many organizations, like upgrading to new client systems. Now organizations such as yours are ready to upgrade and gain from better performance and efficiency by purchasing new laptops and notebooks with Windows 7 factory-installed. Before you move dozens - or hundreds - of important business applications into a new environment, find out how other organizations tackled this challenge. Download "Avoiding the 8 common mistakes of Windows 7 migration," an informative white paper that explains how to make the most of a Windows 7 migration and PC refresh to enhance performance, security and manageability.

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  • Corporate Desktop Operating System and Browser Trends

    In this report, Forrester analyzes more than 400,000 client PCs to determine the latest corporate OS and browser trends. What did we find? Windows 7 has quickly become the standard for new hardware, and IE's corporate dominance is slowly eroding in favor of Firefox, Google's Chrome, and Apple's Safari.

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  • SAS Strengthens Sales and Streamlines Global Operations with Windows 7 on Dell Client Systems

    SAS, a leader in business intelligence and data analytics solutions, wanted to increase sales and enhance the efficiency of its worldwide operations. It decided to deploy Windows 7 on Dell client systems to meet the needs of developers and sales teams. Find out how SAS used Dell™ Premier Global Portal and Windows® 7 Enterprise 64-bit to improve performance factors of not only the IT staffers, but also of the developers and the sales people.

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  • Rogue Peripherals & Applications – Controlling the Chaos

    One of the most vexing management problems for end-user support staff is when an unauthorized application or peripheral causes a conflict or malfunction. In the past, there was little that could be done proactively. Windows 7, however, changes the whole game. See how you can rein in the "outliers."

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