Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system is still playing second fiddle to XP among business users, with more enterprises investigating the unreleased Windows 7 than its predecessor.

More than half (58 per cent) of businesses using Microsoft technology are "exploiting" Windows XP, compared to just four per cent for Vista, according to research by the Corporate IT Forum (Tif).

Tif also found that 35 per cent of organisations described themselves as "not yet interested" in Vista.

The operating system (OS) that most people appear to be developing or piloting is XP, with 12 per cent of businesses saying they were doing so, compared to five per cent for Vista.

More businesses (30 per cent) said they're currently investigating or analysing Microsoft's next scheduled OS, Windows 7, than Vista (14 per cent).

In contrast, seven per cent of businesses said they're still exploiting Windows 2000, although 19 per cent said they are currently replacing or "sunsetting" it.

In April, research revealed that Vista uptake among businesses had been slow during 2007, although a quarter of businesses said they planned to upgrade in 2008.

The main reason given by Tif members for not moving to Vista was a lack of business requirement for doing so.

Microsoft's latest browser, Internet Explorer 7 (IE7) is undergoing a similar struggle for adoption, with a fifth of respondents saying they're not yet interested in the newer version of the app.

Almost two-thirds of businesses surveyed (65 per cent) said they are exploiting IE6, compared to four per cent for IE7. However, 14 per cent said they are currently piloting IE7, with the same proportion using it in isolation.

Almost a quarter (23 per cent) said they are analysing and investigating IE8, which is currently available in beta form.

The full results of the survey can be found on the Tif website.