Microsoft Vista Hits New Problems

Microsoft's love of operating systems is a direct result of its bottom line, with probably 40% of its revenue owing to the product line. Key to any successful operating system introduction is business acceptance - companies buy in bulk, and if you're Microsoft, they also condition people to use the latest version. Only, evidence continues to mount suggesting that's not how things are going this time. According to this Computerworld UK article, studies on both sides of the Atlantic suggest that IT professionals are not keen to introduce Vista into their companies:

The survey, echoing one from Forrester last week, shows most IT professionals are worried about Vista and that 44% have considered non-Windows operating systems, such as Linux and Macintosh, to avoid the Microsoft migration."

Clearly many companies are serious about this alternative, with 9% of those saying they have considered non-Windows operating systems already in the process of switching and a further 25% expecting to switch within the next year," the report "Windows Vista Adoption and Alternatives" reads.

Microsoft has been concerned about Linux for a long time, and that has only grown as some versions of Linux have become more user-friendly. But this is the first time I can remember seeing that large a part of the IT world considering not just Linux, but the possibility of moving back to the Mac, which would have its own slew of problems, as would trying to manage a selection of operating systems - and the versions of business applications they'd need.