Windows 8 is going to hit the market later this year, but a surprising amount of businesses have not even implemented Windows 7 yet. This might be a vital thing for businesses to do because as of April 2014, Microsoft will no longer support for Windows XP. So companies will have to upgrade to Windows 7, at the minimum, should they still want to receive formal support from Microsoft. Before rolling out a new operating system across the board it’s important that companies make sure their computers will be ready to make the change.
Analyze hardware and compatibility
The first step for your IT department or MSP is to analyze the hardware’s capacity to run Windows 7. Businesses can perform this by utilizing the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit 7.0; this will permit you to assess your existing equipment. Additionally, your Manage Service Provider will need to make certain that the company’s applications will work well with Windows 7.
What OS images to deploy
Businesses will need to determine whether they must deploy just the Windows 7 operating system and install applications later, deploy the operating system and all apps simultaneously, or take a combination tactic, deploying the operating system and the most crucial applications that are necessary for all users. Those who take the latter approach may then deploy other applications in the future as needed. This is a advise route as it is the fastest type of Windows 7 deployment.
Choosing the right image deployment tool
Once all of these things have been done, the last step in the process is for your MSP to decide on which tool they want to use. There are lots of tools a company can use to deploy the Windows 7 image. A couple being: Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2012 and System Center Configuration Manager 2007 or 2012. These tools have different advantages and disadvantages that should be considered.
Upgrading to Windows 7, then, is a process that takes careful planning. Fortunately, those businesses who use MSPs or their IT departments to organize their deployment will boost their odds of a stress-free deployment.
