Changewave Research: Microsoft S New Vista Operating System

ChangeWave Research: Microsoft’s New Vista Operating System

ChangeWave Research Report:

Microsoft’s New Vista Operating System

Does It Live Up to the Hype? The Alliance Finds Out…

Overview

Thenew Vista Operating System is again in the headlines,following Microsoft’s March 21st announcement of yetanother delay in their highly anticipated flagship product.

Going forward will Microsoft be able to stay on track and meet expectations, or are bigger hiccups on the way?

To shed light on this, during April we surveyed 62 Alliance members whose companies arecurrently beta testing the new Vista Operating System, along with 176 whose companies plan on testing.

Bottom Line. Until the final version of Windows Vista is released, we won’t fully know the impact it will have on the marketplace. But for now, these survey results provide a great deal of insight from actual beta testers on what we can expect:

Will the Vista ReleaseAgain Be Pushed Back?Nearly three-quarters of all respondents believe that Microsoft won’t ship Vista to its corporate customers until 1st Quarter 2007 or later. Just one-in-five believe that the actual shipping will occur by the announced 4th Quarter 2006 date.

Interestingly, respondents in companies currently beta testing Vista are slightly more optimistic it will ship in the 4th Quarter than are respondents who plan to testVista.

Percentage of Corporate PCs That Will Need to be Replaced. The Consensus estimate among all respondents is that nearly one-third of their corporate PCs will need to be replaced at the time their company upgrades to Vista. Note that this is a benchmark survey. In future Alliance surveys we will be digging much more deeply into this issue.

Importantly, respondents in companies that have hands-on experience beta testingVista believe more of their PCs will have to be replaced (36%) than do respondents who have not yet had hands-on experience (29%).

Vista = Need For More Memory & Better Processors. Respondents cited several key differences in how their company’s computers will have to be configured to accommodate Vista, but the one mentioned most frequently was the need for More Memory/RAM and Better Processors.

Beta Testers –Likes and Dislikes.Respondents whose companies are beta testing Vista especially liked its New User Interface,itsImproved Security Features, and its Interoperability with Other Programs. On the downside, respondents most dislikedits Large-Size, which makes it slow to run without the most up-to-date equipment, along with its Significant Hardware Requirements – resulting in pricy upgrades.

Here’s a Further Look at Key Findings:

(1) Will Vista Release on Schedule?

Question Asked: Microsoft estimates that its Vista Operating System will ship to corporate customers in November 2006. When do you believe Vista will actually ship to corporate customers?

All
Respondents / Currently
Testing
Vista / Planning
To Test
Vista
4Q 2006 / 18% / 27% / 16%
1Q 2007 / 57% / 48% / 60%
2Q 2007 or Later / 16% / 16% / 16%
Don’t Know/No Answer / 8% / 8% / 9%

Estimated Ship Date. Less than one-in-five respondents(18%) believe that Microsoft will ship Vista to its corporate customers by the announced 4th Quarter 2006 date. And while a majority (57%) estimate the actual shipping will occur in 1st Quarter 2007, another 16% say it won’t be till 2nd Quarter 2007 or later.

Interestingly, respondents in companies currently beta testing Vista are slightly more optimistic it will ship in the 4th Quarter than are respondents whoplan to testVista(by a 27% to 16% margin).

We note that research group Gartner Inc. recently released a report stating that Vista will likely be delayed again by at least three months due to the complexity of the system.

(2) What Percentage of PCs Will Need to be Replaced?

Question Asked: What percentage of the computers your company currently owns will have to be replaced when you upgrade to Vista?

All Respondents / Currently Testing Vista / Planning To Test Vista
Consensus Estimate / 32% / 36% / 29%

Consensus Estimate. The Consensus estimate among respondents is that nearly one-third of their corporate PCs will need to be replaced at the time their company upgrades to Vista. Note that this is a benchmark survey. In future Alliance surveys we will be digging much more deeply into this issue.

Importantly, among respondents whose companies are currently beta testing Vista, the consensus estimate jumps to 36%. Thus respondents in companies that have hands-on experience with Vista believe more of their PCs will have to be replaced than do respondents who do not yet have hands-on experience.

(3) Features Users Like about Vista

Question Asked: Based on your experience, please name something you especially like about Microsoft Vista:(n=54)

New User Interface / Ease of Use / Look and Feel / 37%
Improved Security Features / 31%
Interoperability with Other Programs / 9%
64-Bit Capability / 4%
Other / 20%

Respondents whose companies are beta testing Vista especially liked its New User Interface (37%),itsImproved Security Features (31%), and its Interoperability with Other Programs (9%).

Respondent AUG43393, who is currently beta testingVista, says it has a "beautiful interface…” and provides a “…very logical layout.” POW18477 concurs, adding that "the graphical user interface (GUI) is very pleasant.”

In terms of added security features, ALJ92593 thinks the "security and operational management are greatly improved." JBS26317 especially likes Vista's Apple-like ability to prompt administrators for "…additional credentials to run system commands…" from a user account. This appears to be an improvement over Microsoft's current XP operating system.

The open-ended commentsin Appendix Ahighlight additional new features that ourAlliance betatesters are positively responding to. Click here toview the Appendix A responses.

They provide an early look at key strong points of the new Vista Operating System.

(4) Features Users Dislike about Vista

Question Asked: Based on your experience, please name something you especially dislike about Microsoft Vista:(n=51)

Too Large / Slow / Memory Hungry / 25%
Significant Hardware Requirements / Need to Upgrade / 12%
General Dislike / Don’t Like Microsoft / 10%
Delays in Releasing / 8%
High Price / 6%
Software is Buggy / 4%
Hype / 4%
Playing Catch Up to Apple’s OS / 4%
Graphics / 4%
Other / 24%

Respondents whose companies are beta testing Vista most dislikedits Large-Size (25%), which makes it slow to run without the most up-to-date equipment, along with its Significant Hardware Requirements (12%) – resulting in pricy upgrades.

Respondent MMI82808 puts it plainly, saying Vista is "slow on anything but the best hardware.” ESL0927 is especially turned off by the extra graphics Microsoft has added to “enhance” the user experience – which at the same time exhausts resources. He describes it as "wasting processing power on eye-candy...”

According to BEN24054, the added hardware requirements “…means few existing computers are candidates for an upgrade until they are replaced.” MAJ8457 adds that Vista "is way over the top in needs – and is still not user friendly like an Apple.”

A quick reviewof the responses in Appendix Bprovides a snapshot of keyissues our beta testers are concerned about regardingVista. Click here to review the Appendix B responses.

As AL8247 puts it: “50+ million lines of code will have several security holes in it – a marketer's dream; an engineer's nightmare.”

(5) Key Differences in HowPCs Must be Configured for Vista

Question Asked: Have you discovered any key differences in how your company's computers have to be configured with Vista? (n=29)

Need More Memory / RAM / Better Processors / 55%
Security Management / 10%
Upgraded Video and Graphic Cards / 7%
Learning Curve / User Education / 7%
Other / 21%

In terms of PC configuration, respondents cited several key differences in how their company’s computers will have to be set up, most notably the need for More Memory/RAM and BetterProcessors (55%). Respondents also mentioned changes in Security Management (10%),Upgraded Video/Graphic Cards (7%) and theSteep Learning Curve (7%).

Respondent SCO3635 points outthat many of their computers “…have slower processors and less memory than required for Vista.”ESL0927 adds that "even simple office workstations will need more memory than with XP.”

Beta testerLYN85831,focusing on differences in how their corporate security programs will need to be configured, notesthey’ll "…have to deal with conflicts that arise from the incorporation of security and anti-malware features…”

Appendix Cprovides a snapshot of PC configuration issues cited by our respondents.Click here to review the Appendix C responses.

ChangeWave Research Methodology

This report presents the findings of a recent ChangeWave Alliance survey on Microsoft’s new Vista Operating System. The survey was conducted during April 2006, and a total of 62 Alliance members participated whose companies are currently beta testing the new Vista Operating System, along with 176 members whose companies plan on testing.

The Alliance’s proprietary research and business intelligence gathering system is based upon the systematic gathering of valuable business and investment information directly over the Internet from accredited members.

ChangeWave surveys its Alliance members on a range of business and investment research and intelligence topics, collects feedback from them electronically, interprets and reconciles the information in a cohesive manner and converts the information into valuable quantitative and qualitative reports.

The Alliance has assembled its membership team from senior technology and business executives in leading companies of select industries. Nearly 3 out of every 5 members (56%) have advanced degrees (e.g., Master’s or Ph.D.) and 93% have at least a four-year bachelor’s degree.

The business and investment intelligence provided by the Alliance provides a real-time view of companies, technologies and business trends in key market sectors, along with an in-depth perspective of the macro economy – well in advance of other available sources.

About ChangeWave Research

ChangeWave Research, a subsidiary of Phillips Investment Resources, LLC, identifies and quantifies "change" in industries and companies through surveying a network of thousands of business executives and professionals working in more than 20 industries.

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