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Small and Medium-sized Businesses (SMBs) in the Asia Pacific (APAC) are markedly optimistic towards Windows 7, and nearly three-quarters of SMBs are planning to upgrade to the new operating system, reveals a new study by Springboard Research.
The research also shows that upgrade plans are more robust compared with both XP and Vista following their launches, as Windows 7 penetration in the Asian SMB market has grown on average 33% a month since its October 2009 release.
The difference in adoption by region and company size is quite significant, says Springboard. An average of 62% of SMBs in Europe/Middle East/Africa, 64% in Latin American/South America plan to upgrade to Windows 7; the percentage stands at 73% in North America, while in the Asia Pacific, 72% of SMBs have plans in place. Globally, of the early adopters who upgraded within the first 90 days post-launch, businesses with fewer than 20 employees upgraded the fastest - double the rate of other company size classes.
Microsoft and hardware manufacturers are likely to see strong Windows 7 growth over the next six to twelve months,” says Michael Barnes, VP of Software & Asia Pacific Research, Springboard Research. “Large enterprises are following their usual trend of a more measured adoption cycle, but SMBs in Asia are transitioning to Windows 7 at a quick pace.”
Why Windows 7?
Among the SMBs planning to upgrade to Windows 7, speed/performance ranks as the primary driver, followed by security, user interface improvements, and manageability. In fact, of those planning to upgrade, speed/performance is cited as the chief impetus for upgrading 62% of the time.
Businesses with fewer than 20 employees cited security (58%) almost as often as speed (64%) as a reason to upgrade to Windows 7. For larger businesses with 250 or more employees, manageability (64%) overtakes speed (61%) as the number one reason to upgrade.
To Upgrade or Not to Upgrade
Among businesses with no plans to upgrade, the primary reason cited is more often a cost/benefit factor (48%) than a concern over hardware or software compatibility (32%). Businesses with 20 to 99 employees are most likely to express cost/benefit concerns (52%) versus compatibility concerns (33%). The gap is smaller among businesses with more than 100 employees (50% versus 42%) and small businesses (44% versus 30%).
Upgrade, Replace, or Both
New hardware purchases are likely to accelerate as Windows 7 becomes more ubiquitous. Nearly half of all Window 7 upgrades (45%) will occur on new computers, whereas 55% of installs will occur on existing computers. Systems nearing the end of their useful life will be replaced, decommissioned, or left “as is” (no upgrade).
“To say the least, many IT professionals were underwhelmed with the Vista operating system. It is no surprise then that computers currently running Vista are nearly twice as likely to be migrated to Windows 7 as older Microsoft operating systems,” adds Jonathan Silber, senior research manager, Springboard Research. “Given that Windows XP still represents the majority of Microsoft operating systems for SMBs in Asia, it should be noted though that 48% of SMBs have plans to upgrade computers running XP,” he concludes. | 
