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Intel recently posted the results of a study titled "The Value of PC Refresh with Microsoft Windows 7" in which it describes its experience while testing Windows 7 during the second quarter of 2009 for its own use within the company. As one would expect, Vista's successor received much praise. 291 Intel users out of 300 said they found that Windows 7 showed improvement performance and stability over Windows XP.

Despite these positive results, Intel won't deploy Windows 7 till the next year, according to the study: "During 2009, we plan to continue preparing for deployment by creating a Microsoft Windows 7 build and by installing the OS on systems in test labs to enable business groups to test applications and perform any necessary remediation. In the first quarter of 2010, we plan to begin deployment of Microsoft Windows 7 on new PCs with Intel vPro technology as part of our established refresh cycle. We intend to roll out the new PCs to segments of our user community based on factors including their job role and application requirements."

The other nine users said they would not recommend the operating system to colleagues after using the beta for three months; yes, these results are based on the beta that arrived in January 2009 and which is no longer available because the RC and RTM versions have been subsequently released. "We encountered two issues during the evaluation, related to OS performance tuning and user account control," the study states. "Both cases were due to a lack of understanding rather than the technology itself."

Here's the abstract of the report:

Following participation in Microsoft's Technical Adopter Program (TAP), Intel IT found that Windows 7 running on PCs with Intel vPro technology delivers the best productivity for our employees & the best managed solution for IT. After three months of trial with over 300 users, 97 percent of our test users would recommend the new OS to peers and Intel IT sees the potential to save $11M over the next three years. Because of improved employee productivity, reduced costs, ease of deployment and enhanced security, Intel IT is rolling out Windows 7 to early adopters this year and enterprise deployments starting early 2010. Authored by John Gonzalez (OS Product Line Manager, Intel IT), this paper describes these benefits and results of Intel's participation in the Windows 7 TAP.

In addition to the 97 percent statistic, Intel listed four other key results:

* Performance: More responsive for key tasks such as booting and launching productivity applications.
* Stability: Fewer users experienced blue screens.
* Application Readiness: No remediation required during evaluation; application readiness does not appear to be a roadblock to adoption.
* Total Cost of Ownership: Initial estimate of potential USD 11 million net present value.