It’s hard to believe that Microsoft (News - Alert) Windows XP was released on October 25, 2001, nearly eight years to the date of the Windows 7 commercial launch. Think back to that time: Google (News - Alert) wouldn’t be a public company for another three years, the iPod had just launched a few days earlier and PCs were still fairly expensive. One of the Internet’s most widespread viruses, Nimda, had just hit a month before, and everyone was just waking up to the importance of security on PCs.

Where are we today? The Internet is pervasive with most devices, including smartphones and mobile computers, using Wi-Fi and cellular access to stay connected, and with most employees accessing broadband services at home. It seems like everyone has a notebook these days, with many form factors and price ranges. Virtualization of applications, operating systems and even the desktop itself are becoming commonplace. Hardware capabilities have increased dramatically.

So, with all of these new devices, technologies and enhanced connectivity, is it time for organizations to consider the complementary benefits of Windows 7 as a replacement for Windows XP? If Microsoft (News - Alert) sticks to its 10-year support plan, XP is potentially about two years away from being unsupported. At some point, hardware vendors will likely also stop supporting XP and any XP drivers needed for new machines. As for Vista, many of the issues that hindered its widespread adoption have been resolved in Windows 7, including usability, security issues, driver availability and hardware requirements. Challenges around application compatibility do still exist, but there are new ways of dealing with it. Analyst firm IDC (News - Alert) (News - Alert) is expecting that by the end of 2010, 19 percent of the global IT workforce will be using Windows 7.

Dimension Data, a global Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, is taking a new approach to “Windows 7” deployments and integration with its Next Generation Desktop offering. This offering consists of a set of technologies from Microsoft, Citrix and Quest, combined with Dimension Data’s deployment and management services.

Next Generation Desktop works in a hybrid environment, consisting of traditional desktops, notebook computers and virtualized desktops, where multiple technology solutions can be combined to provide the best solution to a business need. In a Windows 7 environment, the concept will utilize a combination of the following technologies to achieve this:

--Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) technologies. These virtual applications can be used seamlessly in desktop, mobile and virtual desktop environments with dramatic reductions in the effort and cost to deploy applications

--Virtual desktops, using Microsoft and Citrix technology. These offer some interesting possibilities for employees connecting from home, allowing the desktop to operate just as if it were at the corporate office, but with access to the local printer

--BitLocker Drive Encryption. This full disk encryption feature aids in preventing loss of sensitive data

--Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Remote Desktop Services. Organizations will be able to leverage improved offline capabilities and connections – even removing the need for a VPN in some cases. Imagine the ability to use your notebook or netbook computer at a customer site to access all of your applications and data – while connected via cellular, Wi-Fi, Ethernet, or even if you are not online!

--Microsoft’s System Center technologies. This will help organizations centralize management of all systems, including machines on the corporate network or on the Internet

--Microsoft desktop virtualization technologies like Med-V and Citrix application hosting. These will enable organizations to easily work around application compatibility issues

--Microsoft Exchange and unified communications technologies. These are changing the way employees communicate – not just via e-mail and instant messaging, but also through collaborative meetings and telephony that can follow employees anywhere.

These of course are just the front-end technologies. The back-end will leverage additional technology from Microsoft, Citrix, Quest, Cisco (News - Alert) (News - Alert) and others. However, the real key lies not in using these technologies for the sake of it. Rather to begin thinking about how a new approach to the desktop – that incorporates Windows 7 – could change the paradigm of how people interact with each other and with key systems and applications, as well as how those changes could save money and make employees more productive.

So where should you start when thinking about your next generation desktop? Ask yourself how your user community is working today, and how you expect this to evolve 10 years from now. Some questions to jumpstart the discussion include:

--Will a home office or other remote presence be a requirement? In many companies, home offices have become mainstream with a real potential to reduce costs

--Do your users need to take data with them on the road, such as sales data? How would “always connected” technologies change that? Will your existing applications work in that type of environment?

--What percentage of your user community consists of task workers? Many companies already use terminal server technologies with task workers. Could you expand this to include more of your user community?

--Communication and collaboration technologies have dramatically altered the way we communicate. How will these affect your desktop environment moving forward?

This of course is just the starting point. You may want to ask your business units these questions – they may have some ideas you haven’t thought of. Once you have defined what your user communities want, then it’s time to start thinking about what your next generation desktop should look like and how various technologies, including Windows 7, might help you get there.

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Edited by Kelly McGuire