Upgrading to Windows Vista (now with Service Pack 1) vs. upgrading to Windows 7 and skipping Windows XP's successor altogether is a recurrent subject, and Microsoft itself has shifted perspective and changed tone on the matter. Catalyzing the modification in position is the proximity of the Windows 7 releases, now no more than a year away, with the pre-Beta and Beta builds on the horizon and expected by the end of this month, respectively by the end of 2008. According to Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer, customers might now consider skipping Windows Vista and wait for Windows 7.

Present at the CIGREF - Club Informatique des Grandes Entreprises Françaises, on October 2, in Paris, Ballmer responded to a question related to adopting Windows Vista vs. waiting for Windows 7, pointing out that as far as business customers are concerned, it all comes down to their IT infrastructure upgrade cycle. “The one thing I am not saying to people they should do is run out and upgrade all of their old PCs today, because I think there's more of a natural flow. If you're prepared to do it, you should do it -- I would say you should get ready to do it with XP -- or sorry, with Vista, but then depending on the timing you might wait for Windows 7,” Ballmer stated.

Almost two years since Windows Vista became available for business customers at the end of November 2008, Ballmer revealed that he wasn't sure whether to recommend that enterprises wait for Windows 7 or go for XP's successor. In fact, Microsoft's CEO went for a neutral answer, and indicated that the upgrading decision should be left to the customers in accordance with their specific upgrade cycle.

“Everybody has kind of a cycle of what you're trying to do in your own organization. Some people will re-buy their computers, a third or 25 percent a year, so they replace all their computers in four years. If you're on that strategy, my recommendation would be get all your applications tested with Vista and then move to Vista as soon as possible. Don't do a full replacement, but since you're buying new computers, why buy new computers with XP instead of Vista on them,” Ballmer stated.

Synchronizing the Windows upgrade process with the enterprise lifecycle means that the decision to go with Windows 7 in the detriment of Windows Vista might indeed make sense for large volume deployments. Ballmer indicated that for major upgrade processes that would be half way to finalization when Windows 7 hits the shelves, it actually makes sense to skip Vista.

As far as Vista is concerned, Ballmer said, “my point isn't to encourage you to do it immediately. Of course, we'd love you to do it immediately. My real advice is to do it in the natural rhythm of your PC upgrade cycle, and our team would be glad to give advice in that context”.