One of the main aspects that hurt Windows Vista RTM and the adoption of the operating system was poor support from the environment of products orbiting the platforms in comparison to Windows XP. The fact is that the vast majority of software and hardware solutions available on the market when Vista hit the shelves in January 2008 were tailored to XP, and end users came across a plethora of issues when attempting to integrate existing products with the latest Windows client, mainly because of the lack of support and compatible drivers. The Windows Vista Logo program with the "Works with" and "Certified for" labels was designed to offer consumers guidance in terms of the products that were Vista-specific.

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 was released to manufacturing on February 4, 2008, and to the general public beginning with March 18. SP1 is not only a step forward in the evolution of the platform, but also a maturity milestone for the operating system, and nowhere is this more evident than in the volume of products that are now carrying the Windows Vista Logo.

"As of April, we currently have over 5,000 products that are Certified for Windows Vista. Since last July, the amount of Certified for Windows Vista products has almost doubled! As you can see - we've seen quite a bit of growth with new Certified for Windows Vista products entering the market," revealed Microsoft's Brandon LeBlanc citing statistics made available by Deryl McCartney, Marketing Manager for the Windows Vista Logo Program.

In the official Windows Vista Product Guide, Microsoft informed that no less than 2515 programs were labeled as Vista Logo applications as of December 2007, with an additional 15,000 hardware components having already received the "Works with Windows Vista" or "Certified for Windows Vista" labels. On the main page of the Windows Vista website, Microsoft features a special section dedicated exclusively to Certified for Windows Vista products, and the Redmond company is also offering a Sidebar Gadget for download, set up to connect consumers with certified products.

"Certified for Windows Vista products are products that carry the above logo. This logo represents a group of applications and hardware that have gone through an extensive certification process that means they work great with Windows Vista. We want users who are looking for devices, applications, or PC components to easily be able to identify the ones that will give them the best experience in Windows Vista today. When I go into a store looking for something for my PCs I always 'look for the logo'," LeBlanc added.