Banning Windows Vista is just standard procedure and nothing more. Companies like Intel and organizations such as The Department of Transportation (DOT) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have all postponed upgrading to Windows Vista. In the aftermath of Windows Vista upgrade ban reports, NIST has come out to explain that their actions follow procedure.

Simon Szykman, chief information officer at NIST, revealed for ZDNet that a Windows Vista ban is out of the question and that the institute will in fact make the jump to Microsoft's latest operating system. In this context, Szykman explained that larger organizations will always take their time when it comes to deploying major software updates across their ecosystem. The delay of Windows Vista upgrades is associated with a testing period that will determine the consequences and impact of implementing Windows Vista across the organization.

"Our policy states that we're not allowing users to install or deploy Windows Vista for the time being. We consider this to be an interim policy to give us the time to do the adequate testing of Vista before we deploy it. We don't expect to have any obstacles that would prevent us from eventually deploying Vista," Szykman revealed.

The bottom line is that while the banning of Windows Vista is in fact a nuanced process that reflects nothing more than standard testing procedure, upgrading to the latest operating system from Microsoft is part of the natural refresh cycle.

Any Windows Vista ban will be temporary, except when swapping to alternative operating systems is considered. For Windows however this is the natural path of evolution. A slow paced evolution despite Microsoft's predictions, but one that will eventually lead to Windows Vista.