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
In the business environment, being able to find information
quickly and accurately can mean the difference between being profitable and
not. Vista's vastly improved search capabilities make it much easier for users
to find documents on their hard disks, e-mail messages, programs they want to
use and more.
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?
These and other new features in Vista will prove useful to
many businesses, but are they worth the cost of upgrading? The price of the new
OS varies depending on the edition, but the upgrade versions suitable for
businesses range from AU$379 for Business Edition to AU$495 for Ultimate Edition.
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
Your best bet may be to wait a while before upgrading.
Despite extensive beta testing, there are bound to be a number of bugs in any
new OS, and a lot of fixes that will appear in the coming months. Rumour has it
that Microsoft is already preparing to release Service Pack 1 for Vista before
the end of this year, and many organisations will be waiting for the service
pack before they upgrade.
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.
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