The New Upstart?

Computers, laptops, and notebooks have undergone a sea change in the recent
past, in terms of different operating systems being deployed, and users having
the experience to use these for their different applications. Windows 7 is the
latest entrant in the operating system space, and its launch has found a lot of
users, both from a consumer and enterprise perspective.

According to KC Palanisamy, senior IS manager, Indian Oil Corporation,
"Windows 7 is a much better operating system (OS) compared to Vista. Key reasons
being the ease of use, and suitability with the different applications we run."
The company has a total of 4,500 PCs within southern India, which runs on Vista
as well as Windows XP. The company plans to purchase at least 1,000 more PCs
within the southern region, which will run on Windows 7. It also plans to deploy
the OS in some of the laptops on a trial basis, with the aim to fully migrate to
the Windows 7 platform. In case the users find it suitable and comfortable for
running their applications, the refresh cycle in the organization will happen
soon.

According to Palanisamy, suitability and comfortability are the key criteria
while looking for a better operating system. But it needs to be seen whether
Windows 7 will completely overshadow Vista in the coming times.

PC Suraj

surajp@cybermedia.co.in

Considering the fact that Windows 7 is the latest offering from Microsofts
stable, it is expected to be a quality product, and a lot of trust and
expectations are expected to be associated with it. The plus point of this
program, compared to Microsofts previous version, Vista, is that it is very
user-friendly, and this will surely enable it to be more popular in the market.
It is also comparatively less complex. "Taking a serious note of all these
advantages, we do intend to use it in the future, as and when the need arises.
But currently, we do not use Windows 7. Our shift will primarily be based on our
requirement," says Ajay Rai, IT manager, Cincom Systems India. The best part of
using Windows 7 is that it can be used with any type of hardware drives, hence
if one needs to upgrade to Windows 7, one need not spend for changing hardware
drives. It is also compatible with any type of software. Rai says, "The prime
reason for us to upgrade to Windows 7 is that the process will not require much
of an investment. We mainly require such programs for the sole purpose of
testing our applications. The use is expected to be at the security level and
for process based activities; I am referring to domain control security
activities."

Shilpa Shanbhag

shilpas@cybermedia.co.in

Windows 7 has generated quite a lot of interest among IT users. Hence, many
organizations from big to small are pondering over migrating many of the users
to this new OS. Microsoft has already showcased many early adopters of Windows
7. One such company is Malayala Manorama, which has gone the Windows 7 way. VV
Jacob, senior manager, systems, Malayala Manorama gives his views on Windows 7,
"I think Windows 7 is a good blend of performance, features, and security.
Compatibility with our existing applications is critical for us to roll out a
new OS. We were very pleased to see Windows 7 compatible with most of our
applications. Additionally, the Windows XP mode in Windows 7 ensures that even
legacy applications, which are not compatible can be run on Windows 7.

We are also very excited by the direct access feature, which allows our
mobile users to connect to our corporate network without requiring third party
VPN software. Windows Easy Transfer gives a greater flexibility. At Malayala
Manorama, we are very happy with the performance of Windows 7 on our existing
hardware, and are in the process of upgrading 850 PCs from XP to Windows 7.

Shrikanth G

shrikanthg@cybermedia.co.in