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By Mel Duvall
Microsoft ramped up its Windows 7 marketing efforts Tuesday by showcasing several Fortune 500 companies that say they will upgrade to the new operating system.
At an event in San Francisco, executives from Ford Motor Co., Continental Airlines, Starwood Hotels & Resorts and Intel appeared on stage with Microsoft executives to talk about their plans for the software.
One of the more interesting votes of confidence comes from Intel, which skipped the previous upgrade to Windows Vista entirely. Intel says it has about 500 people trying the software out and that feedback to date has been overwhelmingly positive. In a study released this week, John Gonzalez, OS product line manager for Intel, said that after three months of trials, 97 percent of Windows 7 test users would recommend the operating system to peers.
Intel sees the potential to save $11 million over the next three years. "Because of improved employee productivity, reduced costs, ease of deployment and enhanced security, Intel IT is rolling out Windows 7 to early adopters this year and enterprise deployments starting early 2010," says Gonzalez in the report.
Microsoft needs Windows 7 to be a blockbuster, but with the economy mired in a recession and companies fighting to keep a lid on IT budgets, there has never been more uncertainty about a new operating system launch. Hence the push by Microsoft to show that large corporations are deploying the software because it can produce immediate benefits.
Microsoft is set to officially launch Windows 7 on Oct. 22. In an open letter published Tuesday, chief executive Ballmer makes the case that cutting costs is not a long-term winning strategy. To build a more competitive advantage, companies must do two things, he says: increase productivity and find ways to deliver new value to customers. That, he says, is where Windows 7 comes in.
"Ford is taking advantage of Exchange 2010 and Windows 7 to streamline communications, improve decision-making, and boost productivity," states Ballmer. At Convergent Computing, an IT consulting firm based in California, Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 will eliminate $40,000 in annual spending that was needed to maintain a virtual private network for the company's 55 employees, according to Ballmer. "In addition, employees can now access the company's corporate network instantly and download files 30 percent to 40 percent faster than before."
Despite what Ballmer referred to as a "global economic reset," he says the conditions are idea for an era of innovation and growth. "I'm optimistic because I believe we are entering a period of technology-driven transformation that will see a surge of productivity and a flowering of innovation," he concludes.
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