Survey: Majority of IT execs have no plans for Windows 7

Microsoft announced today that businesses can get Windows 7 a month and a half before the general release date of Oct. 22, but a new survey suggests that many of them may not want it.

Results of a survey of more than 1,000 IT administrators sponsored by systems management software company ScriptLogic show that nearly 60 percent of respondents have no current plans to deploy Windows 7.

Despite the good reviews of Windows 7 and user interface and networking improvements over Vista, IT managers surveyed still see barriers to deployment such as lack of time and resources and application compatibility.

Data from the survey reflect an ongoing problem for Microsoft: businesses are happy enough with Windows XP that there is no urgency to upgrade.

"While it is important that our staff have access to the latest operating systems, we won't migrate to Windows 7 until at least the first service pack has been released," Sean Angus, senior PC LAN tech for Middlesex Hospital in Connecticut, was quoted as saying in a survey press release.

The leading way that companies are saving money is by "skipping upgrades or delaying purchases" (35 percent), according to the survey data. This provides context for the survey's smoking gun statistic: 60 percent of respondents said they have no plans to deploy Windows 7 at this time. Thirty-four percent of respondents plan to deploy the OS by the end of 2010. A mere 5.4 percent plan to deploy it by the end of 2009.

The 40 percent that do plan a migration to Windows 7 by the end of 2010 is actually a strong number compared to the adoption rate of Windows XP in its first year, cited as 12 to 14 percent.

But for those respondents who are holding back on Windows 7 deployments, the two most popular reasons were lack of time and resources (42.4 percent) and application compatibility (38.9 percent).

Nick Cavalancia, vice president of Windows management at ScriptLogic, stresses that the high percentage of Windows 7 holdouts are a sign of the bad economy.

"This survey highlights the impact the economy has had on IT, with 35 percent of respondents saying they've saved money by skipping upgrades and delaying purchases," he says. "This is likely a reason why IT administrators will put off a Windows 7 migration."

The survey was distributed to 20,000 Windows IT administrators, resulting in 1,100 responses. ScriptLogic's software helps IT administrators manage Windows-based networks.

Are you a Tweeter? Follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/smoneill. Follow everything from CIO.com on Twitter at twitter.com/CIOonline.