The launch of Windows 7 promises to put IT decision-making back on the agenda for many businesses. Companies that have delayed IT purchases in a bid to restrain capital spending can only wait so long. There comes a point when out-of-date hardware and software will not only leave you at a competitive disadvantage — slow machines can also cost you money.
A new OS from the dominant player in business computing seems like a good time to put IT back on the agenda.
But while a new version of Windows is big news — especially to businesses who find Microsoft’s current mass-market operating system Vista to be “problematic” — there are now far more choices in play if you’re looking to revitalise your systems. Let’s take a brief look.
- Apple Mac. With the emergence of the hugely stable, highly usable, very attractive and widely supported OSX operating system, the company is moving out of its enclaves in the creative industries. And using emulators such as Parallels, Wine or VMWare Fusion, all of those business-critical and legacy Windows applications can run on swanky Apple hardware. It might cost a bit more but users will thank you for greater stability and better ease-of-use. Even accountants are starting to consider Macs.
- Desktop Linux. Open source Linux emerged as a brand in the late 1990s. But although it promised to revolutionise the operating systems market, it failed to gain traction at the desktop level. The explosion of the market for netbooks — small wireless laptops — has proved a boon to Linux. Because these devices compete heavily on price, using a free operating system is immensely attractive to vendors. That’s exposed many more end-users to a world without Windows.
- Cloud computing. The netbook model works (whether it’s Linux, Windows or something else) partly because so much data and so many applications now reside across distributed networks of servers. Cloud computing allows businesses to use application service providers (ASPs) to run their applications for them. “We’re delivering a traditional outsourced IT service but we do it remotely,” says Nigel Redwood, MD of e-know.net. “Our customers have no need for IT staff on-site to manage their hardware or applications. Their technology people can focus on value-adding activities and supporting users at the desk.”
You’ve probably come across the term “software as a service” (SaaS), too. Again, the idea is that rather than have your own servers and applications, you simply log on to the internet and do all your business remotely.
All operating systems have web browers. Moving your business into the cloud makes the decision about exactly which hardware and operating system you use almost meaningless. Windows 7, judging by early feedback, looks to be a better bet than Vista. But Microsoft no longer has the lock on business computing that it once did.
(Pic: treehouse1977 cc2.0)
