| It's been months since Windows Vista and | | | | waiting to upgrade to Windows Vista at |
| Office 2007 hit the market. With the | | | | least until then. Frankly, if you can |
| hoopla behind us, and after a period of | | | | wait longer, it makes even more sense to |
| observing both products in the | | | | hold off on upgrading your operating |
| marketplace, it looks like Office 2007, | | | | system until you have to upgrade your |
| especially in conjunction with | | | | computer. |
| SharePoint Server 2007, seems to have a | | | | Issues with Office 2007 |
| lot of value for larger companies | | | | The biggest issue with Office 2007 is |
| interested in workflow automation and | | | | the new application interface. It is |
| electronic content management. There | | | | quite different from Office 2003 and it |
| doesn't seem to be much advantage in | | | | typically takes several days for users |
| upgrading to Vista anytime soon. In | | | | to adjust to the changes. For example, |
| fact, it looks like organizations should | | | | it took me five minutes to discover how |
| wait at least until service Pack 1 is | | | | to save and print a Word document the |
| released in early 2008. | | | | first time I tried. |
| Issues with Vista | | | | Office 2007 is valuable, especially in |
| Vista has its short comings, including | | | | Conjunction with SharePoint Server 2007 |
| missing drivers for printers and other | | | | Office 2007, especially in conjunction |
| peripheral devices. There is also a lack | | | | with SharePoint Server 2007, is making a |
| of application support from independent | | | | splash in the market place. With this |
| software vendors. For example, Adobe | | | | new release, SharePoint Server has |
| won't issue updates to Dreamweaver, | | | | evolved into the integration technology |
| InDesign and Photoshop until this | | | | for portal, collaboration, work flow, |
| summer. A number of antivirus products | | | | Web-content and document management |
| and VoIP technologies don't work with | | | | applications. As a result, SharePoint in |
| Vista yet either. | | | | conjunction with Office 2007 is |
| Vista also requires pretty beefy | | | | providing many larger organizations with |
| hardware, especially if you want to take | | | | an alternative to more complex and |
| advantage of the slick Aero Glass user | | | | expensive custom developed portals and |
| interface. Even minimum system | | | | work flow automation applications, as |
| requirements are more demanding than any | | | | well as content management applications |
| previous Windows operating system. | | | | such as Documentum and FileNet. |
| But the biggest problem with Vista is | | | | The new version of Small Business |
| there's no compelling business case for | | | | Server, which bundles SharePoint, |
| upgrading. The previous operating | | | | Windows, Exchange and SQL Servers into a |
| system, Windows XP, works perfectly well | | | | package for small businesses, won't be |
| for most organizations and will continue | | | | available until after the release of the |
| to be supported for another 2 years. | | | | new Longhorn version of Windows Server, |
| Unlike earlier generations of Windows | | | | which is expected in late 2007. As a |
| where upgrading a few desktops caused | | | | result, we won't know how SharePoint and |
| network disruptions, Vista seems to work | | | | Office 2007 applications for small |
| well within networks of XP computers. | | | | business will pan out until early 2008. |
| Vista introduces some major interface | | | | So don't jump on the bandwagon just yet, |
| changes and new ways of doing things | | | | especially if you are a smaller |
| that will take some getting used to. As | | | | organization. You'll have an easier time |
| a result, the costs of upgrading - such | | | | and get more bang for you buck once |
| as hardware upgrades, user training and | | | | Vista is more compatible and SharePoint |
| compatibility testing - aren't | | | | is proven for small businesses. |
| outweighed by new features and | | | | About Xantrion |
| functionality. | | | | Xantrion - offering gold-certified |
| Wait to Upgrade to Vista until Early | | | | Microsoft support - continues to |
| 2008 | | | | revolutionize computer network support |
| It sounds like most prominent third | | | | by providing systems that work, along |
| party software vendors are shooting to | | | | with seasoned consultants at a fixed |
| issue updates by the time Service Pack 1 | | | | price. Xantrion allows growing |
| (SP1) arrives. In addition, it sounds | | | | businesses to do more with fewer |
| like SP1 will resolve most driver | | | | resources and focus on what they do |
| issues. Since SP1 is slated to be | | | | best. |
| released in early 2008, we recommend | | | | |