How much is computer satisfaction worth?
April 25, 2008 by Valerie HelmbreckPosted in: Budgets and spending, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views, Software
Has your IT department begun to warn you about the impending death of Windows XP, Microsoft’s long-time operating system?
As the software giant slowly forces users onto its unpopular operating system (OS) upgrade, Vista, it may be time to consider other platforms that won’t hold your company hostage to buggy, costly Microsoft releases.
There are plenty of open-source and Linux-based choices, but one mainstream option is switching to Apple computers with their dual-core processors (that can run multiple platforms) and have a user-friendly OS called Leopard.
In fact, corporate users of Leopard are more than five times more likely to say they’re “very satisfied” with this latest Apple OS than business users of Vista.
In a February survey of 2,200 U.S. corporate computer users, 53% of those using Leopard (technically Mac OX 10.5) reported that they were very satisfied with their operating system. Users’ satisfaction with Windows XP was 40% and only 8% of Vista users were happy with their operating system.
“Apple continues to set the standard for corporate customer satisfaction,” said Paul Carlton, director of research at ChangeWave Research. The fact that corporate buying plans for Macs remain at historically high levels, indicate that users like what Apple’s doing, says Carton.
The bottom line: The switch could be a financial wash since most PCs currently in use don’t have what it takes to run Vista. This means your organization won’t just have to buy Vista licenses. You’ll have to upgrade your computer hardware (and other software applications) as well if you want to use it.
Other Vista problems: Software vendors have been slow to create Vista-compatible versions of their applications, so some of your critical business programs may not work with the new OS. These same vendors have also dragged their heels issuing Vista-compatible drivers (the software needed to run their programs on a particular OS).
How long before you have to face the operating system decision? Time’s getting short:
- By June 30, 2008, PC manufacturers won’t sell computers with XP installed anymore
- As of Jan. 31, 2009, Microsoft won’t sell XP at all
- On April 14, 2009 free live and warranty support for XP ends. Free maintenance will be limited to security fixes.
It might be a good time to huddle with your IT folks to come up with a plan for coping with either Vista migration or the switch to another operating system. These projects take time and capital. You won’t want to be caught short on either one.
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Tags: Apple, Leopard, operating systems, Vista, Windows XP
April 29th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
This article is silly. I’m not sure who it would even apply to. Paying 1.5 times as much for computer hardward to save $100 on the operating system upgrade? Plus, no more “free” service packs. Now, when you want the latest version of Apple OS, you get to buy the whole thing over again! Yeah! Not to mention the amazing amount of training you would have to do. How do I print? Why can’t I close this program? Where did my files go? Small businesses should just slowly transition over to Vista…it works fine with your current infrastructure or XP machines. At least Linux WOULD be a cost savings…but you’d probably have to fire your IT guy and find one that really knows his Linux stuff. Most are great with Windows…not so much with Linux.
I’m not hardly a Microsoft fan, but the above advice is…terrible…
April 29th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
point taken, The cost of training end users who barley grasp how to perform their jobs on their current PC would be a transitional nightmare for the analyst that would have to work with these users groups to get them up to speed as well the as the cost to the companies bottom line from production loss.
April 29th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
To both previous comments: You’re gonna have to buy new equipment anyway, why not get something that 1.) users won’t spend most of their time complaining about and having IT work on, 2.) doesn’t get viruses or bots or trojans or other nasty diseases, 3.) is easy to use and doesn’t take a lot of training, 4.) breaks down infrequently, and 5.) runs on multiple platforms so you have some flexibility. Buying the cheapest system and loading it up with a lousy operating system that nobody wants doesn’t seem like smart purchasing to me. Vista’s a nightmare, take if from someone who’s had to try and train users on it. If you think users are bad at working with their computer now, just let them get a dose of Vista. I’m not promoting any particular platform, just wondering why folks keep buying from a bad company that gives bad service on bad products. Talk about silly!