About a year from now, Microsoft will release a brand new operating system that addresses many of the concerns that arose from Windows Vista. Windows 7 is said to have more in common with Windows 2000 and Windows XP, and its emphasis will be on stability, driver support, security, and meeting the needs of both consumers and the business market rather than on radical interface changes and extensive support for emerging technologies.

According to Stephen Kleynhans, a Gartner research vice president, Windows 7 is a "polishing" of Windows Vista, but for IT managers in an SME, the benefit of this polish is not in new interface enhancements. Instead, managers can expect very few look and feel adjustments, which will aid in deployment strategies and training. Windows 7 will provide a new Taskbar with a more technical look that mimics the touchscreen approach that is becoming increasingly popular. New, larger icons will show larger thumbnail views and provide more flexibility in where you put them. New tricks for window transparency, "jump lists" that house commonly used apps, and a way to see apps in a split-screen mode are the main cosmetic enhancements. Microsoft also plans to add touch computing features, supporting touch browsing in Internet Explorer and zoom features similar to those of an iPhone.

Although these changes sound compelling, it's likely that IT managers will be more impressed with how Microsoft plans to optimize the underlying code much like it did with Windows Server 2008, which is now more nimble and has fewer lines of code than its predecessors. The goal is to overcome the user perceptions about Vista - that it is hard to use, lacks extensive driver support, and is prone to crashes and bugs. Kleynhans says Microsoft plans to tweak and not overhaul Vista to make it more stable for enterprises and consumers. It will also address usability issues, especially with how end-user systems connect at home and at work.

"There will be improvements in home networking, which will help workers who bring home their work laptop[s] and are frequently stymied trying to get it to work properly on their home network[s]," says Kleynhans. "There are also changes to make reinstalling the OS on a system less disruptive and encryption security for USB keys and external drives."

It's never easy for data center managers to keep pace with technology advancements, but Microsoft plans to ease the transition to Windows 7, even hinting that companies could leap-frog the Vista release - which was a major upgrade with an extensive feature set - and wait for Windows 7, which may be released sooner than you think.

"Microsoft has stated that Win7 will ship roughly three years after the release of Vista, which would imply a release to manufacturing of the final code around the end of November 2009 - about a year from now," says Kleynhans. "This would make it broadly available sometime in January or February of 2010, too late for Christmas sales. However, we suspect Microsoft's internal targets are significantly more aggressive and wouldn't be surprised to see it released in time to get onto Christmas machines."

Kleynhans speculates that the promised easier transition might follow Vista service pack deployment progression, but at a faster rate. Additionally, Windows 7 will have all of the core driver support of Vista with minor interface enhancements, so it will likely run more reliably than Vista.

Kleynhans says the key decision will be whether to wait for Windows 7 or to deploy Vista. Waiting for Win7 means sticking with Windows XP even as the support period is waning. "Windows XP leaves extended support in April 2014 - that's a hard and fast date," says Kleynhans. "Most organizations do not want to be running an unsupported OS. Third-party support for XP will start to dwindle through 2012 and 2013, making new machines difficult to set up and configure. While 2014 sounds like a long time away, when you start laying out a project plan for doing a careful, well-orchestrated migration to either Vista or Win7, you will find your options pretty limited if you wait for Win7. It's certainly doable, but it could be more complex [and] more expensive."

Deployment strategies will be difficult to time because so many organizations have not moved quickly to Vista. There is a window of opportunity to wait for Windows 7, but it may be too wide open.

Deployment difficulties will likely cause headaches for IT at first; however, deploying Windows 7 brings good news, as well: The OS has some unreported core technologies that exist at a more foundational level.

For example, a new DirectAccess technology will allow IT managers to use an "always managed" approach for remote workers who connect over a VPN. It automates security updates, a feature that will be a major perk for overworked admins, and will implement IPv6 and IPSec. Secondly, Win7 offers a Branch-Cache feature that mimics the SMB and HTTP(S) features in the enterprise, yet is easier to deploy and manage. A new Deployment Image Servicing and Management feature will aid in management chores, as well, by helping to manage connected computers.

The long time period for Windows 7 deployment is a chance to strategize about the new operating system, its features, and how it fits within an SME. In the end, this forced evaluation period (and what appears to be a regular beta cycle) can strengthen an organization rather than cause undue surprises, more IT headaches, and OS anomalies.

John Brandom for .