Microsoft: XP extension was to help businesses transition

The latest extension of XP’s downgrade deadline surprised some inside Microsoft, and it could happen again, according to the head of Windows products for Europe.

Earlier this week, Microsoft extended a downgrade deadline for the XP operating system until July of next year. At the moment, computers purchased with Business or Ultimate versions of Vista can be downgraded to XP if the user wishes – and some definitely do.

“I honestly didn’t believe they would do it this time,” Windows OEM product manager (EMEA) Laurence Painell told IT PRO, adding: “I can’t say categorically they won’t do it again.”

Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer has previously said that a big wave of customer demand would help keep XP alive, but Painell said the extension was based on requests from partners and OEMs, not end-users.

“The idea is to allow businesses – which traditionally are much slower than consumers – to make that transition on their own time frames,” he said.

He added that six months isn’t a huge amount of time for an extension, especially given the multi-year refresh cycles most companies have. “The thing is, Vista hasn’t actually been out that long for enterprise compared to out other operating systems,” he claimed.

Painell stressed that while downgrade rights mean companies can continue to use XP, it also means they can upgrade to Vista without any additional charge, when they eventually decide it's time to move to the new OS.

But he denied business users were hanging on to XP in the hopes they could hold off upgrading until the next operating system is released. “Windows 7 is due for release in 2010… and most business users wait for the first service pack, which takes 18 months to two years,” he explained. “You’re looking at three and a half years to four years before looking to upgrade to Windows 7.” He believes companies shouldn’t – and won’t – wait that long.

“However, business being business, they have their own business to run, and moving Windows Vista is not always a top priority,” he admitted.

Email to a friend

Print this page

Social Bookmark this article: What is this?

Digg

Delicious

Reddit

StumbleUpon

Slashdot

Google

Facebook