Windows 7 Training Makes Cents

We all know the arrival of Windows 8 is on the horizon and there's some big hoopla coming with it.  And rightfully so--with the promise of a cool new user interface (especially optimised for touch screens), native USB 3.0 support and great new tools for developers to create a  new generation of apps among just a few of the sweet new features coming with Windows 8, it's totally understandable that people are licking their lips in anticipation.

But hold on, wait a minute, most of our Enterprises have only just recently converted over to Windows 7, let alone Windows 8.  Or maybe your company has just begun the migration process to Windows 7, coming off of XP or Vista. You might be one of those questioning the value of investing time and resources to getting your Windows 7 deployments up to scratch, and ensuring your IT staff who support it have the deep admin knowledge on the product, when Windows 8 is approaching over the next year.  It's a fair conclusion at first glance, but to hold off getting the know-how you need on Windows 7 doesn't really make good sense.  From a cost and support perspective for the enterprise customer, Windows 7 doesn't even reach the end of mainstream support until January of 2015.  Yes, 2015.  That's still 3 years away.  Unless there is some unique, compelling reason to leap-frog forward to the future in the OS world, the majority of our companies will be looking to postpone increased investment in OS deployments until it becomes absolutely necessary from a support perspective.  And...Windows 7 is pretty sweet itself:

  • Easier to install and less power hungry than Vista
  • Less annoying notifications and pop-ups
  • Designed with mobile devices in mind so Windows 7 is more energy efficient
  • Networking has been made alot easier.  Share a printer and several machines
  • Searching for documents and files is even easier
  • 32bit and 64bit versions available
  • Strong backwards compatibility with Windows XP programmes
  • Superb data backup features

So really, it makes a whole lotta cents to get your team sorted with the knowledge and skills they need to effectively manage Windows 7 for your enterprise as it's gonna be around for a long while.  Premier Support Ireland is hosting a Windows 7 Essentials workshop from 24-26 January 2012 in our Dublin offices for eligible Premier Support customers.  The course will cover security, enhanced user-experience features, as well as performance and troubleshooting tools.  Spaces are limited, so be sure to contact us now to get more information and secure your place.

 

(Get Windows 7 SP1 now)

 

Sources:

https://www.cio.com/article/683478/How_Windows_8_Will_Challenge_Enterprise_IT

https://www.peats.com/cgi-bin/catalog_v2.cgi?id=26308&type=product