XP to Vista = Benefit???

Ok, so I'm thinking of upgrading my workstations to vista, but my question is, what's the benefit? I've worked in IT for awhile now and seen some great improvements in operating systems over the years. Upgrading from 2000 to XP, there was a clear benefit, but I can't see one from XP to vista. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy with vista, but I don't want to have to go through the hassle of imaging about 2,500 workstations if i don't have to. Eventually, I will, but can i wait?

Any tips or suggestions would be great.
Thanks.

I thought long and hard about upgrading all my workstations to Vista, I eventually came to the conclusion that it just wasn't worth it, most of my users have just about got the hang of XP so Vista would lead to more support calls, some of the workstations would need upgrade, also there is the effort involved in imaging the systems.

If XP works fine for your users.....leave it alone, and spend the time you would be using to do the upgrade drinking coffee and surfing the net.

Yeah, guess you're right. The support calls are mind-numbning enough as it is and the imaging could be a pain. The only benifit is that the workstations I did test had a rating of about 4.2-4.7, so atleast i know they can handle it if some random user wants it.

Thanks for the relply.

...and in five years you'll be just like the people today that are running Windows 98, or Windows NT.

It's wise to keep up to date with your OS and productivity software. Vista SP1 is almost officially out, and that's the signal for me that Vista is ready. I use the SP1 rule with just about any software.

If you are in charge of deploying the OS, as well as being responsible for a flood of support calls, take your time. Are YOU ready to support Vista? Is your support team ready?

The main gripes with Vista are UAC and user rights. If you don't have a plan for this, stay away from a Vista deployment. Personally, I turn UAC off, and remove administrator rights from a non-administer user. Drivers used to be a common problem, but Vista has been out long enough where any respectable company has supplied Vista drivers. Make sure that any "Must have" applications are Vista ready...some older ones are not. Test them first.

Finally, make sure YOU have plenty Vista experience. I have been using Vista since beta2 and have had no problems to speak of that I haven't noted above.

Also, I would recommend that Vista is deployed to a limited number of users as a trial. Pick users that are tech inclined, and users that have new machines. Don't try to install Vista on machines that are several years old. An easy way to do this is to introduce Vista on new workstations as the are installed, or replaced.

You know what I mean. Take your time, understand it, have a plan, and everything will go smooth. IMHO, Vista is ready (@SP1) for deployment, and I say this truthfully, not as a geek that is just defending all that is new.

Good luck,

Paul

Haha, no, if i don't upgrade this month, i'll do it sometime this summer or early fall... I just wanted to know if there was some reason that i should upgrade sooner or later, thats all. I've been using vista since beta 2 as well, more with RC1 and as far as user rights go, from my lab tests, migrating my gpo's from xp to vista shouldn't be a problem. As far as the UAC is concerned, i may leave it enabled just to annoy people... My reasoning is that it will come up if they try to do something they're not supposed to be doing... but in the event that they do screw something up, thats what deepfreeze is for.

And as far as the support is concerned, i upgraded our support staff to vista last fall, so they should be pretty competent on most basic and intermediate issues.

In the end, its me calling the shots as far as deployment and administration, so if i don't do it now, i'll definately do it by the end of the year. Either way, imaging over 2,500 workstations will take time.