Is it time for you to upgrade to Microsoft Vista and Office 2007?

Microsoft's new Windows operating system Vista and their productivity suite Office 2007 were introduced earlier this year with all the fanfare you would expect from Microsoft.

Several months later the question remains, is Vista and Office 2007 good for businesses? The jury is still out.

Personally, for home use I love Vista. It has tons of cool "experience" type features that are great. I bought my daughter a new HP Notebook computer with Vista, back in March. She loves it. And I can see why, her life is music, videos, photos, My Space, and with Office 2007 she has all the tools she needs to do her college work. For her Vista was the obvious right choice.

For business it is another story, moving to Vista is inevitable, but when?

We have held off on installing Vista at SWK, and we have cautioned customers from doing so. There still many compatibility issues with existing application software.

Sage MAS 90, 200 and 500 as well as Sage BusinessWorks and Peachtree, in their current versions, are now all compatible with Vista. But, there are many other business software programs that are not.

I find that clients choosing to upgrade to Vista are doing it gradually. They are adopting a mixed environment of XP Pro and Vista. For some they are upgrading gradually to spread out the cost. Others have found that they have specialty software that will not run on Vista so they leave computers running XP.

Microsoft extols the benefits of Vista for Small Businesses as increased security, easier backup, simpler management; allowing you to focus on your business instead of technology. Microsoft Article

Cnet Reviews provides a pretty complete discussion of Windows Vista Business, there are pros and cons. Users report their experience in a wide range of comments from "excellent" to "abysmal." Review

Kevin McLaughlin writes for Computer Reseller News, in his article Microsoft Partners: Use Of Downgrade Rights Is Surging, he reports that "System builders and other Microsoft partners say they're witnessing a large and growing number of customers exercising downgrade rights to roll back Windows Vista to XP Professional, and Office 2007 to Office 2003."

"Many customers are remaining with Office 2003 because they don't like the changes Microsoft made to the user interface in Office 2007, according to solution providers. This trend suggests that customers are well aware that upgrading doesn't necessarily deliver more value, says Paul DeGroot, an analyst with Directions On Microsoft."

We have been rolling out Office 2007 in our company. I came to have it with a new computer I received in September. Office 2007 is beautiful, but I find it frustrating. Finding and using common features is often a challenge.

If this version of Office was your first you might find it wonderful. But coming from Office 2003 I find it frustrating and have yet to find any clear advantage in this version. Maybe it is just hard to teach an "old dog new tricks."

So what is a small business owner to do? Take a step by step approach. Consult with your IT partner. Embrace this technology gradually.

Peter Conway

VP Small Business Services

SWK Technologies, Inc.