Timing Your Migration To Windows 7. Is Microsoft forcing your hand?

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1 Is Microsoft forcing your hand? Spring 2014

2 With Windows XP going end-of-life on 8th April 2014, there is continued discussion around the need to migrate from this platform onto a newer version. For some organisations panic is starting to set in as they realise that they need to migrate their IT estates in a relatively short timescale. Author: Ian Bowden, Senior Consultant, affini Our white paper Timing Your Windows 7 Migration was first released two years ago. In the first version of this paper, the content focused on the reasons why IT Directors were delaying their migration to Windows 7. In this revised edition, Ian Bowden outlines why those reasons are no longer valid and seeks to state the case for Windows 7 adoption - as well as to highlight the hidden costs and key aspects of the migration process. Introduction Windows XP is the proverbial elephant in the room. The end-of-life announcements for this platform have been well publicised over the last few years. Mainstream Support for Windows XP concluded in the spring of 2009, with Extended Support retiring on April 8, The issue isn t actually one of whether to migrate or not, it s about understanding what you can migrate and when along with the remediation work required in order to migrate seamlessly. No Time To Delay Our original paper dated October 2011, looked at the three main reasons that IT Directors stated for deciding not to migrate to Windows 7. But, in our opinion these reasons are no longer valid. Let s look at each reason in turn affini Technology Limited. All rights reserved. Page 2 of 8

3 Reason #1 It was released with bugs, it s better to wait Two years ago, IT Managers and IT Directors the world over were still reeling from the Windows Vista saga. It was therefore understandable that Enterprise organisations would be nervous at the prospect of migrating to the first release of Windows 7 and the inevitable bugs therein. With many organisations anxious to avoid the potential costs and business continuity impacts caused by a migration to an unstable platform, they opted for the do nothing strategy and stuck with Windows XP, at least until Service Pack 1 was released. At the time, Gartner analyst Michael A. Silver predicted that Windows 7 did not need SP1, stating the first Service Pack for Windows 7 is not necessary for the operating system s stability and security readiness. As it turns out, the analysts were correct and SP1 made little impact to the performance of the operating system. However, our advice to Enterprise organisations undertaking a migration would always be to opt for a risk adverse strategy. Windows 7 has now demonstrated its stability and according to Silver & Kleynhans in their paper Is Windows 8 in Your Furture?, most organisations are still deploying Windows 7 despite the availability of Windows 8. Reason #2 The migration can be overnight to avoid unforeseen time, cost and risk implications, there are a number of factors that need to be considered for any major IT infrastructure change The second reason that IT Directors decided to delay their migration was the perception that migrations were relatively insignificant and could be implemented overnight. Unless you re a small organisation with only a handful of users, the expectation of migrating an entire estate overnight is both unrealistic and certain to cause project failure. Ian Bowden (Senior Consultant, affini) says to avoid unforeseen time, cost and risk implications, there are a number of factors that need to be considered for any major IT infrastructure change. Irrespective of the number of users impacted by the migration, a need for a thorough migration strategy and plan cannot be stressed enough. Bowden goes on to say in one example, we worked with an organisation to migrate an estate of 10,000 seats to Windows 7. The end-to-end process of planning, designing and execution took some 9 months to complete. Whilst there are challenges to overcome, an upgrade to Windows 7 is clearly something that should not be under-estimated. If planned correctly these can be avoided and the delivery can be predictable, controlled and fasttracked. Reason #3 No urgency, it can be done next year The third reason that IT Directors decided to delay their migration was the long end-date for Windows XP going end-of-life. At the time, this milestone was some 2 years away, but now poses a real and imminent danger to those organisations yet to migrate. An IDC report on Windows 7 Done Right summarised the risk posed by failing to migrate in time after Extended Support ends, Microsoft will no longer issue security patches for new vulnerabilities that could leave organisations susceptible to possible attacks. Organisations that do not 2014 affini Technology Limited. All rights reserved. Page 3 of 8

4 address these resulting gaps in security are leaving themselves open to a variety of potential problems, ranging from security vulnerabilities, availability problems, complex and time-consuming support concerns, and potentially even regulatory compliance issues. The report goes on to state to address these concerns, the user base is quickly coming to the conclusion that it has to get serious about evaluating Windows 7, creating an action plan for adoption, and addressing the adoption blockers that are sure to be in its way. For Enterprise organisations yet to migrate, the justification for delaying the process is no longer valid. Over recent years Windows 7 has certainly earned its status as a stable and reliable platform. With a short time frame left in which to migrate from Windows XP, coupled by the need for a swift and seamless transition, organisations must start work immediately to define their migration strategy or face the potential for risks and costs to escalate out of control. Windows 7 Is A Sensible Choice We ve already discussed the credentials of Windows 7 as a stable and reliable platform. With mainstream support for Windows 7 running until 13 January 2015 and extended support until 14 January 2020, Enterprise organisations can migrate to this platform in the knowledge that it has a long shelf-life. But that s not the only reason that Windows 7 is a sensible choice. There are a number of inherent capabilities that will deliver a plethora of benefits for Enterprise organisations. Here are our top three reasons why you should migrate to Windows 7. Reason #1 Hardware Support Most hardware is now available in 64-bit versions. Although this change goes a long way to improving performance, optimum user experience is only realised when both the hardware and software are working together with a 64-bit configuration. As standard, Windows 7 is configured in the 64-bit version. When deployed on hardware that is also configured for 64-bit version, users benefit from enhanced performance with better memory addressability and processing power. Reason #2 - Application Support & Feature Set When Windows 7 first launched back in 2009, one of the key themes used by Microsoft was simplifying your desktop environment. The extensive feature set of Windows 7 certainly delivers a number of productivity gains from a user perspective, but also helps Enterprise organisations to consolidate and simplify their application stacks. One key feature is the enhanced integration with Active Directory, offering better user and device management to simplify environment administration. Other inherent functionality within Windows 7, enables the retirement of many utility based applications. For example, the direct access capability inherent to Windows 7 means Enterprise organisations can decommission 2014 affini Technology Limited. All rights reserved. Page 4 of 8

5 third party infrastructure. Other examples include CD burning software and third party media players. Windows 7 is a sound choice for any organisations with a legacy estate of proprietary applications. Application compatibility and configuration testing is a significant portion of effort during the migration process. Financial, Healthcare and Government sectors are known to face a migration challenge due to the hundreds of web applications that they access daily, and which can t be remediated. Those web applications can be slow and costly to resolve requiring re-writes or upgrades to ensure compatibility. The premise of migrating web applications is relatively unknown. Web applications promised thin client environments but since proprietary browsers are the de-facto standard in organisations this is not the case. Enterprise organisations struggling with legacy applications should not despair yet! There are work-around solutions in the form of hybrid models. The first option is to run operating systems on different devices to support those applications that can t be moved. In this scenario you effectively operate two discreet environments running different operating systems on separate devices. The second and perhaps more convenient option, is to use operating system virtualisation and compatibility modes. This inherent capability with Windows 7 allows Enterprise organisations to run Windows XP in the background to support legacy applications. Reason #3 Security it s a no brainer when you consider the performance enhancements, improved hardware support and the additional security feature, the decision to migration to this platform is simple In addition to the hot fixes and security patches that Microsoft will deliver for the duration that the operating system is supported for, Windows 7 offers simplified security to assist with threat management from viruses, spyware and other malware. BitLocker Drive Encryption (BitLocker) is the key security feature of Windows 7, providing hard disk encryption. The feature essentially prevents unauthorised users from breaking Windows file and system protection on lost or stolen devices. Although this feature was first introduced with Vista, functionality has been significantly enhanced for Windows 7 to benefit both system administrators and end users alike. Another key security feature of Windows is the principle of least privileged. Using this concept, Windows 7 makes it easier for users to operate their computers without the need for administration level permissions. The user account control feature provides a warning when a programme wants to make changes to a user s computer making it more difficult for a device to be hacked. According to Bowden, an advocate of Windows 7 it s a no-brainer when you consider the performance enhancements, improved hardware and software support and the additional security features, the decision to migrate to this platform is simple affini Technology Limited. All rights reserved. Page 5 of 8

6 Vital Considerations For Your Migration Although Windows 7 provides a feature-rich solution, there are a number of factors that Enterprise organisations should consider before embarking upon a migration. These hidden costs are discussed below: Hidden Cost #1 Applications What are the applications in use? Who uses the applications? What are the application dependencies? Are they compatible with the new platform? Before any Enterprise organisation can migrate their environment, it s important to understand what their application environment looks like. Specifically, what are the applications in use? Who uses those applications? What are the application dependencies? Are they compatible with the new platform? We believe that failure to identify incompatibilities, rationalise applications, deploy and fully test the application estate will delay the migration schedule pushing migration costs up by more than 100%: Incompatibility: Windows 7 includes a feature called Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) that enables applications that are not compatible with Windows 7 to be utilised from a provisioned instance of Windows XP. Of course, in an ideal world, work application development would be undertaken to remediate incompatibility issues, but often the cost of undertaking this work far outweighs the benefits. Rationalisation: With a thorough understanding of the organisation s application estate, functionality cross over can be identified. The ability to rationalise the estate and deliver the minimum number of applications to the new platform helps to avoid unnecessary expenditure. Provisioning: Consideration must be given to the process of deploying applications to users. Existing application packages may require remediation in order to address the idiosyncrasies that exist within the new operating system platform. Testing: Failure to fully test the application estate in the new operating system can result in unnecessary delays for end-user adoption and productivity. By building testing into the migration schedule, you can be sure that user transition to the new platform will be seamless. Hidden Cost #2 Migration Sequence A migration schedule is vital for any Enterprise organisation migration. The schedule is driven by application availability, user training and readiness of the supporting system components. Although applications are the biggest migration issue by far, user mapping should not be overlooked. How many users have multiple devices, what they access from each device and which printers and drivers they connect to, are all important for a smooth migration. Undertaking a thorough discovery exercise will help to identify where information or training gaps exist, enabling resolution prior to commencing affini Technology Limited. All rights reserved. Page 6 of 8

7 Hidden Cost # 3 Core Infrastructure Components When defining the scope and budget for any migration, the underlying system components should not be overlooked. It may be necessary to upgrade messaging services such as Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft Lync. For optimal user management Active Directory may need to be upgraded and system management tools such as System Centre Configuration Manager (SCCM) may offer limited capabilities unless upgraded to later versions. To avoid the pitfalls and hidden costs of a migration project, our advice is to complete a thorough and extensive pilot. Our expert Ian, advocates the use of a focused pilot that encompasses all these factors, organisations need to find and fix any problems with a small number of users before rolling out to the whole company, otherwise they risk the value that Windows 7 can bring to the organisation and possibly damage the reputation of the IT department. Many Enterprise organisations account for the tangible migration costs such as hardware and licensing, but overlook the biggest single cost the need for appropriate discovery. As the single most important element of any migration, discovery is time consuming and therefore expensive - but the investment is worthwhile. A thorough discovery will reveal exactly what hardware (desktops, laptops, printers, scanners) is required and exactly how much effort is needed for applications to be ported or remediated. Summary Windows 7 is a viable operating system for any Enterprise organisation looking to migrate from Windows XP. As a tried and tested platform, Enterprise organisations will avoid the bugs associated with new operating systems as well as benefiting from long support dates by opting for a Windows 7 deployment. The reality however, is that any organisation still operating Windows XP will need an aggressive migration timeline in order to beat the looming deadline. For those organisations, immediate work must commence on discovery in order to gain a complete picture of their estate. Migrations need to be meticulously planned, taking into account remediation work and options around applications, users, hardware devices and core infrastructure components that may also need to be upgraded. The result of this discovery and the dependencies identified therein will form the sequence in which the work can be undertaken. The importance of investing in the discovery phase cannot be emphasised enough. Failure to do so may mean that Enterprise organisations fail to fully scope and budget for their migration appropriately, incurring unforeseen and escalating costs in order to resolve the issues affini Technology Limited. All rights reserved. Page 7 of 8

8 For more information about our information & communication technology solutions: Call: +44 (0) Visit: References: Silver, M. & Kleynhans, S., Gartner Paper (2012), "Is Windows 8 in Your future? ", available at: (accessed 6 November 2013). Legal Notice: The information contained in this document is a non-binding proposal for discussion purposes only. This proposal supersedes all previous communication with respect to affini Limited. This document is confidential and not to be shared with any third party. Customer may propose alternatives to any of the assumptions contained within this proposal. However, based on such proposed alternatives, affini reserves the right to reformulate otherwise agreed upon components of the proposal. If customer chooses to agree to the terms of this proposal, agreements based upon affini Services Descriptions will be created for both parties review. Proposal is valid for 60 days.