Vista woes lead IT pros to Macs, Linux
updated 06:10 pm EST, Mon November 19, 2007
IT turning to Macs, Linux
Many IT professionals are turning to Mac and Linux systems to avoid installing Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system as an upgrade, according to a survey conducted by King Research. Of 961 IT professionals polled, a whopping 90 percent expressed concerns about migrating to Vista. What's more, over half of those surveyed said they had no plans to use Microsoft's latest operating system at this time. Macs are currently the most favored alternative to Windows with 28 percent of respondents saying they would most likely to turn to Macs, rather than upgrade to Vista.
Some 25 percent of those surveyed chose Red Hat Linux as a viable alternative to Vista, while SUSE Linux and Ubuntu each attracted 18 percent of respondents.
"Clearly many companies are serious about this alternative, with 9 percent of those saying they have considered non-Windows operating systems already in the process of switching and a further 25 percent expecting to switch within the next year."
Most concerns about upgrading to Vista revolve around stability, according to NetworkWorld, although compatibility with business software required to run on Vista was also often cited. Some IT pros pointed to cost as a source for concern about upgrading to Vista.
Many of the professionals polled said virtualization -- a technology allowing one computer with compatible hardware to run foreign software at near-native speeds -- is a key to veering away from Microsoft's technology.
Other challenges still face IT departments looking to steer clear of Vista, however. The survey found that 49 percent of respondents need to manage multiple operating systems, while 50 percent said they would need to learn a different set of management tools. No less than 60 percent of IT professionals polled said they manage their Windows installations with tools that don't support non-Windows systems.
Some 45 percent of survey participants mentioned challenges with system management in non-Windows operating systems as a barrier to adopting alternatives to Vista.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Feb 2007
just wait
just wait until they try managing Leopard's massive array of problems with non-mac tools, or even mac tools, the combined total of which is puny at best. the problems they are worried about - compatibility with old hardware and software- will hardly be fixed by Apple and Linux, just like Leopard is hardly fixed by old hardware and software. These are the dumbest reasons to get a new vinatage Mac, of which I have many as well as Vista Business on several machines I built with no problems whatsoever from day one of Vista availability and even earlier during the beta, RC days.