Microsoft's latest operating system will become available to advisers and the rest of the world Oct. 22. The system will grace the shelves of retailers in all its shrink-wrapped glory, but most folks will be buying it pre-installed on new desktop or laptop PCs. Experts believe that the buy-it-installed route is the way most users, including advisers, should acquire the new operating system.
So what does the new operating system deliver? For users of Windows XP, what's probably most noticeable is its new design, which is similar to the tepidly received Windows Vista. Windows 7, however, requires less disk space and has a smaller memory footprint than Vista. Software reviewers have found it to be stable, providing faster start-ups and shutdowns, as well as a redesigned taskbar, a simpler configuration for working with external hardware, easier network setup, and richer and more simplified multimedia support.
Perhaps the most important aspect of Windows 7, at least for business users, is that it is newer and better than Windows XP — and it is not Vista, which many users considered bloated and not much of an advance. Most of the early signs point to greater demand for and greater customer satisfaction with Windows 7.
According to Lance Ulanoff, editor-in-chief of PC Magazine, the overall buzz about the operating system has been positive, a big departure from the pre-release turmoil surrounding Vista in 2006.
“We've been using Windows 7 here in our lab since the first pre-beta, beta and release candidate versions, and it has proven to be really fast and very stable so far,” he said. “It also remains very efficient in terms of its system resources usage.”
Another factor in Windows 7's potential success is that Microsoft Corp. of Redmond, Wash., seems to be getting its timing right this time around.
“I'd expect we'll actually see systems out in time for the holiday buying season — something that didn't happen with the rollout of Vista,” Mr. Ulanoff said.
What about advisers?
There are many reasons for advisers to be optimistic about the new system. First, it's time for a viable replacement for XP, which bowed in 2001. Vista, which was able to capture only about 12% of the corporate desktop PC market, according to Forrester Research Inc. of Cambridge, Mass., turned out not to be a contender; XP still is used on 75% to 85% of business desktops.
“Absolutely, the majority of our users are still on XP,” said Paul Thiessen, chief architect (a fancy way of saying top developer) for Emerging Information Systems Inc. of Winnipeg, Manitoba, makers of NaviPlan
financial planning software.
Mr. Thiessen, who's been with EISI since 1992, has seen his share of operating system rollouts. He said his company will be ready and the EISI software will be compatible in time for the October launch date. Things in general look more positive than in past rollouts, Mr. Thiessen said.
“There certainly is more confidence among developers this time around,” he added.
Most software vendors serving financial advisers are already working to make sure their products run on Windows 7, which is not to say that they are urging advisers to run right out and buy it — or a new PC running the operating system — as soon as it becomes available.
“It's a question of risk over reward — in other words, what are the main benefits of jumping to Windows 7 right off the bat? I haven't seen enough to make me want to jump myself,” said Ken Golding, a vice president and senior developer with CRM Software of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. The company produces the Junxure customer relationship management software that is popular with advisory firms.
“If you are a techie and just enjoy the pain, okay. But if you run a business and things are working I don't see a compelling reason to do it right off the bat,” Mr. Golding added.
Despite his ambivalence, CRM Software and Junxure are well on their way to being compatible with Windows 7 when it is released, he said.
Advisers excited about acquiring the new operating system for their businesses should check with their key software vendors prior to doing anything. In other words, make sure that any desktop software crucial to your business will run on Windows 7 before you contemplate upgrading your PCs to it or prior to re-equipping your office with new hardware that is running it.
