Customers turn away as Microsoft offers Windows 7 deals

Microsoft is making moves to allure companies to upgrade to Windows 7, yet new research implies that only 40 per cent of businesses are even interested.

The Washington-based software giant is offering a 15 per cent discount on Windows 7 for its business customers, providing they sign up to the OS within six months from launch.

Yet new market research has found that around six out of ten companies are not interested in adopting Microsoft ‘s quasi-successor to the divisive Vista platform.

A survey of 1,100 IT administrators shows that 59.3 per cent of respondents had no plans to adopt Windows 7. Around 82 per cent of that group cited either compatibility issues or time and resource burdens as the key reason for not upgrading.

Windows 7 is due for release in October, and the perceivable lack of interest from consumers is reminiscent of the modest uptake in Vista itself. The operating system was plagued with incompatibility issues when it first launched. Sales picked up pace when Microsoft released Vista’s first service pack.

Microsoft is making final touches to Windows 7, with the OS expected to be finished before August. The firm has implied that business customers will be able to get it early, perhaps as soon as early September, nearly two full months before its scheduled October 22 launch.