Be prepared – The key for Migration to Windows 7

Recently I was doing some research for a Windows 7 Migration Project. (The Migration will occur from Windows XP) and found a great Gartner research article titled: Prepare for Windows 7 in 3 phases.

The article key findings are as follows:

• Most Organizations will require between 12 to 18 months to achieve optimal preparation for a Windows 7 migration.
• Organizations that have tested or prepared for Vista could complete the preparation process in 12 months.

The Chart below shows the 3 different stages of the Migration according to Gartner

It is important, on the SMB space that companies that are still on the XP Platform to start looking into their migration strategies, Microsoft will end support of the XP platform by April of 2004, and most of the application vendors may also end application support to their applications even earlier than that.
Make sure that you keep the following key issues in perspective

• Create a Committee to outline the Project and the project timelines , and select a user base for your pilots that would represent different business areas, level of knowledge, geographies, etc . This will guarantee a smooth implementation phase.
• Create a detailed Inventory of your assets: hardware, software and processes.
• Make sure that your IT staff is properly trained on the new system capabilities and features and also on the new management capabilities that Windows brings to the table. Check the Microsoft springboard series at www.microsoft.com/springboard , there is a wealth of information and tools on different Windows 7 migrations key issues like:
• Deployment and Automation
• Application Compatibility
• Pilots
• Application virtualization and much more.
• Establish a Testing program
• Go over your licensing schemas not only for the OS but also for the Applications.
• Make sure that you have buy-in from your user base, instead of pushing down the update.
• Keep communication at all times with your users during the pilot phase

Adjusting Gartner’s Migration procedures to your own environments will help you better strategize and plan your Windows 7 migration.