Small Businesses Doubt Microso ...

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Small Businesses Doubt Microsoft's Rosy TCO Projections for Windows Vista

SB Informer
Wednesday, December 13, 2006; 03:04 AM

Only one in five of the small business executives who participated in a recent IT Business Edge reader survey trust Microsoft's projections of more than $300 a year in savings per machine upgraded to Windows Vista. Among the rest, half are convinced their TCO savings will be less, while the other half have no faith in any TCO estimates for Windows Vista.

Overall, survey participants said they have stayed on top of developments with Microsoft Windows Vista, with 79 percent describing themselves as reasonably or very well informed about the issue. But that familiarity with the new operating system has not fueled a rush to embrace it. Only one out of four said they plan to migrate to Microsoft Windows Vista within the first 18 months of its release. About the same number will rely on their PC refresh cycle to facilitate the upgrade over time, and the rest do not have a fixed upgrade plan, do not intend to upgrade, or are considering alternatives.

In all, 385 readers participated in the brief survey. The online poll was targeted at professionals from businesses of 500 or fewer employees, and 93 percent of respondents fit that profile. Nearly three quarters were from North America or Europe, and about 60 percent of respondents described themselves as being either an IT executive or manager. The anonymous survey was administered via e-mail and Web-based survey technology. While every attempt was made to ensure that results are accurate and credible, these results should be viewed as anecdotal and not scientific research.

An overview of the survey results is available at http://www.itbusinessedge.com/item/?ci=22282 and full survey data can be viewed at http://www.itbusinessedge.com/reports/images/Vista_Survey_summary.jpg.

For related information, see the IT Business Edge Special Report, Windows Vista: The Promises, the Payoffs, the Costs at http://www.itbusinessedge.com/specialreports/vista-special-report.aspx.

About IT Business Edge and NarrowCast Group LLC
IT Business Edge is a "technology intelligence agent" that updates subscribers on developments related to their most critical IT priorities. Via its Web site (www.ITBusinessEdge.com) and weekly e-mail reports, IT Business Edge delivers news, research and analysis aggregated from more than 2,000 technology publishers, vendors, analysts and associations.

IT Business Edge is published by NarrowCast Group, LLC, a privately held online media company that targets high-level business technology decision-makers. The company offers IT vendors varied opportunities to access this coveted audience through high-impact advertising and lead-generation programs. Through an array of partnerships with other publishers, NarrowCast Group also markets select books, training products and software tools directly to its subscribers, creating a diverse revenue model while meeting the comprehensive information needs of its customers.

Visit the IT Business Edge service at http://www.itbusinessedge.com.

For more information about NarrowCast Group and IT Business Edge, go to http://www.itbusinessedge.com/aboutus.aspx.