Survey: SMBs more aggressive with Vista upgrade plans

Among small and mid-sized enteprises 47 percent of them plan to upgrade to Microsoft’s Vista operating system in the fourth quarter of 2007, according to a Cowen & Co. survey.

The survey, which is done in conjunction with CRN magazine, also found that 78 percent of small and mid-sized businesses will adopt Vista by the second quarter of 2008.

Simply put, the small fry will lead the charge when it comes to the Vista upgrade cycle. Cowen analyst Walter Pritchard said in a research note that his firm's most recent survey is above the adoption rates predicted in February. In February, 43 percent of small businesses indicated they would adopt Vista by the end of 2007.

Large enterprise customers are still expected to lag in upgrading to Vista as they await a service pack and more clarity on how other applications will interact with Microsoft's latest OS.

Among large enterprises, 31 percent said they would begin Vista adoption in the fourth quarter of 2007. That tally is up from 25 percent in February.

According to Cowen, which surveyed 300 enterprise customers along with CRN, 70 percent of all enterprises will roll out Vista with new PC purchases. One in four of those businesses were buying new PCs, but downgrading the OS to Windows XP to adopt Vista later.