Poll: IT pros love Windows 7; majority dump Vista upgrade plans

In a poll of corporate IT professionals conducted by ChangeWave Research, 44 percent of the 68 users testing Windows 7 said that they were "very satisfied" with the beta. A similar survey by ChangeWave in February 2007, just weeks after Vista's launch, found just 10 percent of the respondents expressing the same sentiment.

Researchers said that those who are happy with Windows 7 cited the new operating system's improved performance as a big reason for their reaction.

"Takes less memory and boots faster, and reminds me of a new XP," one IT professional told the researchers.

In the same survey, approximately 2,000 enterprise users responsible for IT purchases were polled to find out their companies' current Windows plans. According to the poll, 53 percent of respondents said that their businesses are going to skip Vista altogether and instead wait for the arrival of Windows 7.

Only 15 percent said that their organizations would still proceed with a Vista rollout, and about 14 percent said that their companies were already deferring some PC and server purchases in anticipation of Windows 7.

Researchers had the following to say:

Of course, beta testers tend to be hard-core techies and the ultimate test is how satisfaction holds up when mainstream users get their hands on the new software.

Importantly, Microsoft should remember Windows 7 isn't the only game in town.

Back in a February 2008 ChangeWave corporate IT spending survey, Apple's Mac OS Leopard system received a 53% Very Satisfied rating from users – 9-pts higher than the new Windows 7 gets currently.

Are you holding off for Windows 7? [via]