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-------------------------------------------------------------- This story was printed from ZDNet Australia. --------------------------------------------------------------
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Vista is here, should SMBs care? By Deb Shinder, TechRepublic February 08, 2007 URL: http://www.zdnet.com.au/insight/software/soa/Vista-is-here-should-SMBs-care-/0,139023769,339273517,00.htm
In this article, we'll take a look at some of the reasons an
SMB might benefit from going to Vista, the costs and drawbacks of doing so, and
some factors you should consider in planning a Vista deployment. Glass adds a lot of "cool factor" to the user experience, but its benefits for business use are questionable, and it's certainly not a compelling reason for most companies to upgrade. On the other hand, contrary to some media commentary, the Glass interface is also not a reason not to upgrade to Vista. Although it's true that the new interface uses more system resources, there's no requirement to run it -- you can easily turn it off and go back to a classic Windows interface without all the visual effects with just a few clicks of the mouse. And the Basic, non-glass interface runs on older or lower-end systems that can't support Glass. Click here for more info on the Basic and Aero Glass interfaces. What about security? UAC has emerged as one of Vista's most controversial features because of its "in your face" method of operation. But by running most tasks with standard user privileges even when you're logged onto an administrative account, and prompting for permission before doing anything that requires admin privileges, it goes a long way toward preventing many exploits that rely on elevation of privileges. For more info on UAC, see my article titled Working with (and around) Windows Vista User Account Control. 2. Internet Explorer 7 Protected Mod 3. BitLocker Drive Encryption Network connectivity is easy in Vista -- almost too easy. Unlike with Windows 2000 and XP, in most cases when you install Vista on a networked computer, you find that you immediately have access to your network resources without having to do a lot of configuration. The new Network and Sharing Center gives you a visual representation of the network, which can be useful in determining whether networking is configured properly. And there's a handy Network Diagnostics and Troubleshooting feature to help you identify any networking problems and correct them. For more information about this tool, click here. Vista also contains a new peer-to-peer networking feature called People Near Me (PNM), which makes it easy for applications to discover other Vista users connected to the same subnet. For example, it can be used by the new built-in program called Windows Meeting Space to allow your employees to hold virtual meetings, give presentations, do demonstrations and share handouts. For more information about People Near Me, click here. In search of better productivity The Instant Search field in the Start menu is multi-functional. You can use it to find data files instead of navigating through levels of Windows Explorer or you can type in the name of a application instead of clicking through menus. It also serves as a Run box -- just type the path of an executable into the field to open the program. An instant search box is also incorporated into Windows Explorer and Control Panel, as well as some Microsoft applications such as Windows Media Player, Windows Photo Gallery and IE7. For more information about Vista's Instant Search, click here. But is it worth it? If you were considering upgrading to Vista, you may have been deterred by articles such as James Gaskin's The Vista Budget Vacuum that claims upgrading will cost you US$3250 to US$5000 per user. Those figures seem daunting, but they're based on the presumption that upgrading to Vista will require all new PCs for every user. In fact, many newer existing computers will run Vista, Aero Glass and all. My Dell, a little over a year old, had no problem with it. But even more importantly, as discussed above, most businesses don't really need the Glass interface. Many more existing systems can run Vista without Glass. Gaskin's article also presumes you're buying the "professional packages" and having them tested and installed. That may be standard operating procedure for enterprises, but not necessarily for small and midsize businesses. He's also figuring in the cost of new back-end servers to support sophisticated collaboration features, but your business may not need those. The Vista operating system and Office 2007 work fine in our small company with Windows 2000 and 2003 servers and Exchange 2000. On the other hand, you shouldn't overlook the hidden costs of any software upgrade. There's likely to be extra costs for user training and/or lost productivity while users get up to speed, administrative overhead and possibly network downtime. A planned deployment Meanwhile, your IT personnel (even if that's just you) can set up one or more Vista test machines and get familiar with it before you have to start supporting users. And there's no rule that says you have to upgrade the entire office at once; Vista and XP get along well on the network. Your plan might include upgrading a few power users first, and bringing the rest along later. TechRepublic is the online community and information resource for all IT professionals, from support staff to executives. We offer in-depth technical articles written for IT professionals by IT professionals. In addition to articles on everything from Windows to e-mail to firewalls, we offer IT industry analysis, downloads, management tips, discussion forums, and e-newsletters.
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