Reasons Why You Should Upgrade to Windows 7
By Jeff Hays
Director of IT
While sitting in a Microsoft Windows Launch event for Windows 7, I found myself contemplating two key questions that I ask every time Microsoft releases a new product:
What would prompt me as an individual to upgrade to Windows 7?
The first glaring thing I noticed was that Microsoft looked at the operating system from an end user’s perspective when designing Windows 7. Microsoft went to great lengths to improve the boot up process to reduce the time we wait every day for our computers to boot up. Metrics presented show a potential 50% increase in speed when booting up the operating system.
Beyond that, they continued to add small features such as Snap, which allows you to size and arrange your open windows much more effectively. They’ve also added Jump Lists, which provide shortcuts to documents you’ve recently accessed. These newer features in Windows 7, combined with the backward compatibility options that allow you to run in a Windows XP mode, provide for a smoother transition to the new operating system
Why would I recommend a company to upgrade to Windows 7?
I can think of three significant reasons to consider an upgrade to Windows 7 as a company.
- Return on investment (ROI). Taking the average productivity gain per day per employee and extrapolating the results across the firm, you should be able to see a significant gain annually. Using an average employee cost of $75,000 annually: a three-minute productivity gain per day for each employee would yield $433 per year per employee based upon 240 working days in a year. A small business with 50 employees could potentially save $21,650 a year just by upgrading the operating system their employees use.
- Hardware requirements: Windows 7 is the first operating system in recent history to reduce the hardware requirements to run the operating system from its predecessor. This allows companies to extend the life expectancy of their computer hardware and further maximize the investment they have already made. In today’s economy, who isn’t looking to get another year or two out of their existing resources?
- Hard drive encryption: With the new version of their encryption feature, BitLocker, which is built into Windows 7 enterprise versions, companies can reduce their liability and risk to lost or stolen hardware. Implementing a company policy and enforcing the encryption of hard drives will also help minimize potential damages that could be incurred if private information is lost without being encrypted. In addition, this may have a positive impact by reducing the premium amounts on your company’s liability insurance.
We have reviewed and beta-tested Windows 7 in our environment for several months, and feel very confident that the upgrade will be a valuable investment for you or your company. For more information about Windows 7, or to find out more about our Technology Services, please contact Jeff Hays, Director of IT, at 630-285-0215.
