Desktop migration history

The history of desktop migration

History has seen some big changes in desktop migration projects. In the late 1980’s most organisations were running Microsoft Windows 3.1 and IBM OS2. The mid to late 1990’s saw the first big OS migration to Windows NT followed by the next migration to Windows XP in the early to mid-2000’s.

The lifecycle for corporate editions of the Windows OS have been extending in recognition of the increasing desktop migration complexity, driven by the difficulties faced in the end user environment.

Steve Ballmer, CEO at Microsoft, suggested that there were over 300 million PCs still to migrate from Windows XP at the Microsoft Worldwide Parter Conference in June 2011. That figure stands to be much higher since a vast number of organisations will buy a Windows 7 license with new PCs, but will downgrade to Windows XP once it is installed and receives the standard desktop build.

If history can teach us anything it is that organisations need to avoid the same mistakes that happened in the last Windows XP migration which was badly planned and poorly executed. Organisations must allow for sufficient time in the initial planning and design phase and only through using intelligent tools will they achieve process excellence and automation that results in a successful migration project.