Services company Code Blue expects to reduce its monthly desktop support costs by between 15 percent and 40 percent following implementation of the Windows 7 operating system.
General manager Ian Funnell says the savings are possible because of Code Blue’s implementation methodology, combined with inherent efficiencies in the new operating system.
“We’ve spent a lot of time optimising Windows 7 for small and medium businesses,” he says.
The cost reductions come in three key areas: fewer support calls and the time to resolve incidents; the better efficiency of Windows 7, resulting in lower platform costs; and increased ease of use, which is lowering customer training costs and boosting productivity.
“For new customers, the monthly service and support savings are running as high as 50 percent.”
Funnell says interest in Windows 7 is accelerating as customers begin to appreciate the potential to make savings without major disruption or significant new hardware costs.
“Implementation can be phased to minimise upfront costs and strategies such as virtualisation can enable existing hardware to be retained.”
A recent US survey, reported by CNET News, shows that businesses are increasingly planning a move to Windows 7, with more than half of those questioned planning to have some machines running the operating system by the end of the year.
The Dimensional Research survey of 923 businesses, conducted in January, found that 16 percent were already running some Windows 7, with 42 percent planning to start deployment during 2010.