Earlier this month, the RTM build of Windows 8 Enterprise became available from Microsoft's Software Assurance service. Microsoft also released a number of free migration tools to help IT workers with installing Windows 8 Enterprise for large companies.
Some people in the PC industry have predicted that migrating to Windows 8 will be hard, thanks in part to its "Modern" user interface. As a result, some believe that the current Windows OS, Windows 7, will continue to be used by a large number of businesses for years to come.
However, Computerworld.com has talked with an executive of a PC support company that doesn't have that same opinion. Joe Puckett, the director of training for PC Helps, states, "It will be very difficult to adjust to, no doubt of that. But there are a lot of things that can be done to minimize the disruption."
PC Helps is currently working to upgrade the PCs of an unidentified company which has 7,000 employees to Windows 8. Puckett says that a company that concentrates on upgrading its mobile devices to Windows 8 will have less of an issue, since so many people are already used to touch screen interfaces for other products.
Puckett does admit that updating a company's desktop PC network to Windows 8 will take more time, saying, "Windows 8 is disruptive the second you turn it on." He also says that companies should start training their employees on how to use Windows 8 before they launch a major migration to the OS on their desktops.
However, he believes that the transition from Windows 7 to Windows 8 won't be as disruptive as the move from Windows 3.1 to Windows 95. Puckett also believes that ultimately, Microsoft's move to have one interface on multiple types of hardware (desktop, notebooks, tablets and mobile phones) will work, saying "Down the road, that cuts down the learning curve."
Source: Computerworld.com
Migration image via Shutterstock
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