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Windows 7 Budget Considerations Every Organization Needs to Keep in Mind

By Andy Deltuvia, VP of Professional Services, CompuCom

Budget... Budget... Budget... you can avoid challenging budgeting discussions down the road by taking a multiphased approach and mandating budget synchronization early and throughout the entire process.

Hardware and software license costs, application compatibility assurance, and deployment costs are the common domains most organizations planning a Windows 7 migration are looking at. As with all projects of this scale, the devil is in the details. As organizations start to scratch the surface of these high level domains, it quickly becomes apparent that each domain has a multitude of potential budget-impacting variables.

Consider the following:

  • Application Compatibility - Discovery, rationalization, and remediation. We are seeing many organizations struggle with application discovery and rationalization costs and budgeting. Particularly in matrix-managed IT organizations. Many budgets for Windows 7 have been cast prior to detailed discovery in this domain.
  • Hardware - Deployed hardware capabilities, field memory upgrades, and desktop/laptop refresh plans all have significant impact on costs.
  • Deployment - Light touch, zero touch, direct touch, and rolling refresh all present different variables to consider.
In order to successfully identify realistic costs and funding sources, and provide a holistic view of the costs and timelines of a migration, organizations need to include ongoing budget synchronization as part of the planning process. By taking a staged approach and implementing a multiphase budget that aligns key cost considerations with the various phases of deployment, you can prevent “surprise” cost discussions down the road. In addition, working with a partner like CompuCom, which has firsthand knowledge of the costs surrounding a Windows 7 migration, can help avoid any surprise conversations. Our experts can share with you actual costs and timelines experienced by other organizations like yours and help develop a better plan. For more information about CompuCom’s Windows 7 planning and migration services click here.