What Is The Windows 7 Snowball Effect? 

 

On paper, it seems pretty straightforward: migrate all of your PCs to Windows 7 by April 2014.  The reality is a little more complicated than that.  IT departments are being hit with a slew of additional projects, either in support of Windows 7 or in conjunction with it, that can weigh down your planning, overwhelm your team and bury you in an avalanche of details.

We like to call this the "Windows 7 Snowball Effect" because like a snowball rolling downhill, the project takes on mass and momentum as you slide toward the finish. What started as a manageable initiative rapidly turns into a complex web of sub-projects, dependencies and changing priorities.

Why is it happening?

For many organizations the last major OS migration was to Windows XP well over five years ago.  While many companies have continued to invest in upgrading desktops, many have waited, knowing that Windows 7 was coming.   

OS Migrations are the right time to revisit your desktop assumptions and to make essential changes.  These changes beget other changes - upgrades to Exchange can lead to server consolidations - virtualizing the desktop can impact bandwidth -- data security tools require policy changes - you get the picture.

Here are some of the popular IT initiatives that many of our clients have integrated into their Windows 7 migrations. 

How many of the below are on your list?

* Hardware upgrades                                                                          

* Update of desktop/security policies and procedures      

* Upgrade to Office 2010  

* Upgrade to Exchange 2010                                                            

* Remote Access upgrades/enhancements                 

* Updates to security/protection programs                              

* Server virtualization/consolidation 

* Desktop virtualization   

* Desktop management       

* Update to Printing stragegy   

* Asset Management 

* Application Management

What Can You Do?

Start by taking a deep breath.  Look on the bright side.  The right planning and execution of many of these initiatives should lay the groundwork for future initiatives (or at least the next couple of years.)   You will come out of this in a stronger place.

Next, step back and look at your inter dependencies and ask some hard questions - is this a nice-to-have or a mission-critical project?  Can these projects run in tandem or does one need to happen before the other?  Look at your resourcing realities - are the same people working on multiple projects?  Do you have the skills in-house?  What are the business objectives?

Then, seek counsel.  We say this all the time because we mean it.  Don't go it alone if you can help it -seek the counsel of trusted colleagues, your network, or partners like Eden.  Why?  Because no matter what you are up against, chances are someone else has done this before and can give you good advice and tips.  Learn from other people's experience.

Attend our webinar on May 15th to learn more about how to avoid getting hit by the Windows 7 Snowball effect!

The desire to maximize this time and effort is what gets that snowball rolling.  The trick is to make sure you understand the real cost of each initiative, and whether or not it makes sense to your business, the budget, and the impact to your end users. 

Here are three projects worth the cost and attention.

Upgrade to Office 2010:   Whether you go before, during or after your Windows 7 upgrade, if you are running version of Office older than 2007 you should upgrade.  If you have NOT made a plan to upgrade, we strongly recommend you roll these two out together.    Remember:  Office 2003 support ends in April 2014 as well.

Upgrade to Exchange 2010: Speaking of Office (Outlook), Exchange 2003 support end is April 2014.  Without essential security patches, running Exchange 2003 will expose the entire E-mail store to security risks.  Note:  Upgrading Exchange requires the resources of your network engineering group - you need to be working with them if the upgrade happens in tandem with Windows 7.

Update and Standardize Hardware: In addition to include desktop dollars into their budgets, many organizations are revisiting their printing strategy.  If your printers do not have compatible drivers, you may be need to replace them.  Standardizing printer models and types makes it easier for users, streamlines driver management and can reduce toner costs.  Consider eliminating local printers by investing in a secure printing tool to address the printing of sensitive documents.