There always seems to be something
new in the computing world. Is it a novelty that will make your life a little
more convenient, or something that affects business overall? Let’s be honest
this is not Windows 7. The decision to migrate to Windows 8 requires
significant consideration and evaluation. What is Microsoft’s goal with
Windows 8? The adoption of one common operating system on the PC, tablet
and personal data assistant. Ambitious yes but the concept has great
potential if your focus is simplification. Yes, simplification something
all business and IT departments greatly desire. The question becomes what
should your business consider before planning a migration to Windows 8.
Before moving forward you should
develop and consider a list of benefits. Do those benefits translate into
a tangible return on investment, increase efficiency and productivity?
Take the time to solicit the thoughts and feedback of the management
team. Obtaining counsel from other key leaders of the business is always
beneficial. Keep in mind what IT perceives as a benefit can be subjective
and needs to be further vetted. To help get you started below is a list
of a few potential benefits:
"Having a strategic initiative to simplify your IT
ecosystem can result in lower cost and improve employee efficiency."
Matthew Ramsey, Senior IT Strategist
- Common Interface: As mentioned above imagine the concept of all employees having the same operating systems interface for: PCs, tablets and personal data assistants. There is a strong case to be made for this concept. Having a strategic initiative to simplify your IT ecosystem can result in lower cost and improve employee efficiency.
- Socially Engineered: If your organization is active in engaging social mediums such as Twitter, Linkedin and Facebook; Windows 8 definitely has strong possibilities. Windows 8 embraces social technology and collaboration allowing a more holistic view of your contacts.
- Microsoft Office: While there have been numerous challengers to Microsoft Office very few if any have made significant advancements in market share. As part of analyzing the benefits you should consider how the Microsoft Surface might be a factor. The Surface comes standard with Microsoft office which should not be overlooked. This could potentially be an advantage for companies who have large remote work-forces that use tablets.
Risk
Application compatibility is a key
element in the decision making progress. The big question is whether or
not your existing applications are compatible with Windows 8. To help you
get started you can use Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant. This feature is
included with Windows 8 and will help you asses each application.
Revamping business applications can be costly so understanding the level of
risk is essential in the decision making process.
Investment
If you determine the benefits are
compelling start formulating an investment profile. In other words what
kind of capital investment will be required to migrate to Windows 8? Take
the time to look at a Windows 8 deployment from a total cost of ownership (TCO)
perspective. After a thorough assessment you may find that Windows 8 has
the potential to work well within your organization.
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