Vista upgrade: Are you ready?
- By Steve Dickson, Dmitry Sotniko
- Dec 26, 2007
Think your office is ready to upgrade to Microsoft Windows Vista? The folks at Quest Software have a checklist of items to consider before taking the big plunge.
1. Have you identified all potential compatibility issues?
- Hardware requirements need to be met
- Vista-compatible drivers need to be available for your hardware
- Applications need to be Vista-compatible; make sure you check with your software vendors.
2. What is your upgrade process?
- Pick a pilot group for the upgrade
- If doing a hardware refresh, plan to do data and settings migration
- If re-using the hardware, keep in mind that not all legacy Windows versions can be upgraded to Vista in-place
3. Have you set new Vista features deployment expectations properly?
- Some features might require Windows Server, codenamed Longhorn, to be on the back end, which won't be out until the second half of 2007 at the earliest
- Some features might be Vista-only, so deploying them in a heterogeneous environment might require a third-party solution
- Do your employees need training to take advantage of this new technology?
- What do support and help desk personnel need to prepare for an upgrade?
- What preparation do users need for a Vista upgrade? What is the plan for training and policy revision?
Source: Steve Dickson and Dmitry Sotnikov, Quest Software