A survey conducted by Endpoint Technologies Associates in mid-November amongst enterprise CIOs and IT managers, indicated that companies may be slow in the adoption of Microsoft’s latest offering.

The results of the survey revealed a range of opinion, but a key finding was that even the near-term adopters will begin rollouts only in 3Q07 or 4Q07, while the bulk will wait for 2008 or Service Pack 2 (SP2).

"Enterprises (large and midsize businesses, government, educational institutions) tend to be cautious and wait until the OS stabilizes before adopting.  This broad segment could also be characterized by the term "relationship customer," but the key characteristic of these firms is that they have a knowledgeable IT department, which makes decisions for the company as a whole," said Roger L. Kay, founder and president-research firm, Endpoint technologies Associates and conductor of the survey.

The survey also reveals that most of these firms will adopt Vista, but virtually all of the respondents grouse about Microsoft as a partner, express mixed feelings about the software and something akin to anger at the price.  Several seemed to be afraid to criticize the Redmond behemoth for fear of some sort of retribution, shades of the "old" Microsoft.

"Vista is more secure and robust and better performing and looking than XP, and it has some surprising features (eg., integrated search, image management tools) that will please potential customers.

It is really not if, but when, and Microsoft's poor launch timing belies the fact that over the next 2-3 years, hundreds of millions of copies will ship worldwide," concludes Kay.