From the failure that was Windows Vista, Microsoft has picked itself up and got back on the horse with Windows 7 which, so far, is getting rave reviews from its initial testers

WHISPER IT softly, say it gently, but it looks like Windows 7, the follow up to Vista, could be the IT phenomenon of 2010.

Microsoft's successor to the less than well received Vista is receiving a groundswell of support by those beta testing the product. While that testing cluster consists mainly of Microsoft partners and their customers, the feedback the software giant is getting is building the anticipation for the product's full release either later this or early in 2009.

Instead of the attendant ballyhoo that accompanies a new operating system (OS) from Microsoft, this time the company is keeping a tight lid on its proclamations, preferring instead to let the product speak for itself.

Mark O'Connor, technical lead for managed services, and Brendan Matthews, operations manager of Maxima Ireland, both admit being "pleasantly surprised" by Windows 7's abilities and increased performance.

"From our point of view, you can see you're getting better performance," says O'Connor. "Battery life is better, boot up and shut down is much faster."

Matthews points to Bit Locker, an application that enables the user to encrypt the hard disk and USB keys, as a hugely important element of Windows 7.

"With all the talk of laptops going missing and so on, the security that Bit Locker provides is essential. With Vista you could encrypt up to 4gigabytes (GBs) of memory, but there's no limit with Windows 7 - you can encrypt an entire hard disc."

Matthews says the company installed Windows 7 on lower spec machines with 512 Mb of random-access memory (RAM) and it performed better than the existing XP OS.

According to Matthews and O'Connor, the Search tool on Windows 7 is also greatly improved, which has big implications for business.

"Document search is instant and we reckon we're saving up to two hours a week on searching for documents - it's an excellent feature," says O'Connor.

Vista was well-known as a PC resource-sapping OS, one of the reasons why many companies and individuals shied away from migrating to it since its introduction. According to Maxima, however, Windows 7 is very light on the central processing unit (CPU) and occupies relatively little RAM. "We benchmarked it and the OS was only occupying 280-290 megabytes (MBs) so it seems to be much more efficient at memory management," says Matthews.

One particular application O'Connor likes is the Ready Boost function, which allows a USB key to be used to boot the PC RAM performance by caching the data from the disc to the memory stick, thus improving performance.

"We're pleased so far with Windows 7 - it's definitely a product I'll be rolling out with the full release," says O'Connor.

Martin Lyons, director of Nitec Solutions, says the feedback he is receiving is very much focused on compatibility, with the software instantly recognising existing printers and scanners in the office and other locations.

"The next thing we're noticing is speed. It's not slowing down the machines. As a director within Nitec, I need to be able to do my job - so upgrading to a new OS can mean a lot of work. Once you run Windows 7, you're able to get on with business as normal but the software is quicker and the OS is more intuitive."

Lyons is ebullient about the new OS, hailing the beta version as "polished" even at such an early stage.

"I think Microsoft has nailed this one. A lot of the new add-ons such as the problem-solving centre make things a lot easier. . . the interface is a easier to use - quicker and snappier. Connecting to networks is a lot simpler. This OS addresses a lot of the issues with Vista. In addition, it has an XP compatibility mode where you can run your XP software and applications in a virtual environment - in a consumer-driven product, that is excellent."

Lyons says the feedback from his customers has been very good and, according to him, Windows 7 is a "step in the right direction".

"Microsoft has got this one right. In large organisations where expectations are high, people seem to think they've nailed this one. The proof is in the pudding so we'll see what consumers and the media say when it's released."

Gary Melvin, sales director for Brandon Consulting, says while Windows 7 has a similar look and feel to Vista, in terms of performance it is very different.

He also points to better start-up and shut-down times and increased battery life. "I couldn't see myself going back to another OS after Windows 7. Customers are delighted with it and have noticed the gains. You have your desktop in about 30 seconds - that's not much waiting."

Melvin predicts that a huge amount of people who are still using XP and have been slow to jump to Vista will move directly to Windows 7. "It has a better look and feel. The beauty of it is you can upgrade to Windows 7 with your existing hardware and have a noticeable performance gain.

"We've had no major issues with it so far. We can roll it out with confidence and that makes it easier to manage. And it will save us time and money on a yearly basis. We'll fire ahead as soon as it's released."

Colin Rainey, technical manager for Novosco, echoes the other Microsoft partners, proclaiming it as "excellent".

"It is much better than Vista, which we had in the office for a number of years and, in that time, we had a quantity of users go back to XP because it seemed to slow their machines down so much - it drained resources on their PCs.

Rainey also singles out security feature Bit Locker, which he said helped Novosco with a recent ISO audit.

According to Rainey, Windows 7 will be adopted by organisations such as government departments that had planned to roll out Vista in 2009 but have stalled on the decision. "They're waiting for the new OS, and will most likely jump from XP to 7."

These positive vibes from partners and customers alike are good news for Ronnie Dockery, client business group lead for Microsoft Ireland. He said he has been pleased with the lack of negative sentiment thus far.

So good has been the feedback that Microsoft has decided to deploy Windows 7 in its Sandyford site, with 80 per cent of the campus already migrated to 7.

Dockery believes the reasons behind the new OS's success are down to simplicity and better capabilities such as improved networking capabilities, speed, caching and improved graphical user interface (GUI), to name but a few. "The idea is to make people more productive, reduce the number of clicks while being secure - have ease of access yet have the underlying security.

"What they've done with 7 is built it on Vista's security and added new features based on that and optimised it."

Dockery says implications of Windows 7 for business users include more security - locking down the desktop and reducing total cots of ownership by making users more productive, with quicker search engines making it easier to find documents and applications on the machine.

So, the big question is, why upgrade?

Dockery says there are a number of reasons, with cost high on the list. He claims the company has proven that power savings of around €60 per year can be made. It's also more secure, in fact twice as secure as XP.

Dockery also points to applications such as Bit Locker, which means companies or individuals don't have to buy third-party encryption solutions. He claims Windows 7 also brings productivity gains, thanks to an optimised environment. "Just take it for test run - it's a free download, so download it and take it for a spin. People should try to put it on a machine in the office. Try an older machine and you'll be amazed at the performance, look and feel.

"Existing hardware gets a new lease of life with Windows 7, which means you can better sweat your assets."