14 DAY TRIAL // With the advent of Service Pack 1, even more businesses are bound to start considering adopting Windows 7, although enterprise uptake for the operating system has been at an all-time high even at the RTM stage. Microsoft promises that business users making the jump to the latest iteration of Windows will be able to reduce Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and boost productivity, among the other advantages of the OS.
And in this regard, the company also made available a Return on Investment (ROI) calculator to help potential customers assess the benefits of a Windows 7 upgrade beforehand.
The online application is designed to support business customers worldwide and is designed to quickly calculate the expected ROI for an upgrade to Windows 7 Professional basing the evaluation on some information that users will need to provide.
“Are you thinking of upgrading to Windows 7 Pro? There are many reasons to do so - speed, productivity, easy to use, etc - and here's one more - tangible ROI,” revealed a member of the Microsoft Small Business team.
“On the US Windows 7 site there's a simple little ROI tool that illustrates in just a couple of minutes the potential productivity gains from upgrading to Windows 7 Professional.
“Take a few minutes to enter your details - number of PCs, laptops etc, change the currency [if needed], and then take a look at the cost benefits.”
The ROI results that the calculator produces are based on information supplied by market research firm IDC.
In fact, the site also offers access to a whitepaper from IDC designed to provide insight into the impact of Windows 7.
“Figures are based on productivity gains, which can be up to 6 days per user per year. When you spread that across even just a few users it's apparent that you gain significant business benefits. You can also download the IDC white paper on the benefits of using Windows 7 in SMBs,” the Microsoft representative added.