Wednesday 08 September 2010
With Window 7 released to manufacturing on schedule, more and more businesses are examining their feelings about the move from Windows XP. Though somewhat uncharted waters, the overall consensus is good. Confidence has been restored and definite plans are in place by many to make the transition as soon as possible. TechRepublic recently featured the results of a pool of IT decision makers in various industries. These IT leaders were asked if they plan to deploy Windows 7 by the end of 2010. Ffifty-percent said they are expecting to have it done by that time with the remaining majority set to deploy at a later date. Below are a few of the reasons given in favor of early adoption as well as those for the delayed.
Cloud computing on the horizon - The impact of the adoption of cloud computing solutions makes it virtually impossible to say what the next generation of desktop computing will be like. A delay in the move from XP could place the business at a disadvantage, especially in terms of security.
Cloud computing provides users with more security than traditional IT applications, one computer expert has claimed. Eran Feigenbaum, director of security for Google Apps, made the comments during a visit to the UK. He said that many organisations are concerned about losing data and adopting cloud computing means this is less likely as storage is in the cloud rather than a hard device such as a USB or the memory of a laptop. ‘Data is typically lost when laptops and USB memory sticks are lost or stolen, but local storage is no longer necessary if a company uses cloud-based apps,’ he told ComputingWeekly.com. Mr Feigenbaum added: ‘Statistics show that 66 per cent of USB sticks are lost and around 60 per cent of those lost contain commercial data.’Using the cloud reduces the chances of the data being lost as it does not need to be taken anywhere, the computing expert concluded. BT announced it is to work with Microsoft to offer its business customers access to cloud computing.
