Sixty-Three Percent of Organizations to Adopt Windows Server 2008; 18 Percent Are Already Planning, According to CDW Tracking Poll

Security, Ease of Setup and Administration Are Top Attractions; Many Tie Plans for Windows Server 2008 to Plans for Windows Vista

CDW Corporation, a leading provider of technology products and services to business, government and education, today released a survey report that reveals information technology (IT) decision makers’ perceptions and plans for adoption of Microsoft Windows Server 2008. The poll of 772 IT professionals found that 63 percent say their organization will upgrade to Windows Server 2008, with 18 percent already implementing or making their plans to do so. Twenty percent of respondents said that they are very familiar or somewhat familiar with Windows Server 2008, which is on par with pre-launch Windows Vista (24 percent, according to the first CDW Windows Vista Tracking Poll, published in November 2006).

Among respondents indicating that they plan to upgrade to Windows Server 2008, 66 percent said that there is no tie between that plan and their upgrade plans for Windows Vista. However, as many as 34 percent do, and among those, there is a slight preference for implementing Windows Vista first. The same group rated security features and the ease of setup and administration as the most attractive benefits of the new server operating system. As with Windows Vista, the risk of first-version bugs topped the list of IT decision maker concerns with Windows Server 2008, followed by questions of application and hardware compatibility.

“This poll reflects the complexity of today’s server environment, where preferences for operating systems are more heterogeneous than in the desktop market,” said David Cottingham, director of product and partner management at CDW. “Many data centers operate more than one server operating system, and every organization needs to have a server strategy in place to capitalize on the benefits and new features in the server operating system.”

The CDW Windows Server 2008 Tracking Poll also found that 35 percent of respondents said their organizations employ server virtualization at some level. Another 27 percent are evaluating server virtualization seriously or have plans to begin implementation within 12 months, while 38 percent of respondents have no plans to pursue server virtualization in the immediate future. Thirty-five percent identified future virtualization capabilities of Windows Server 2008 as an attractive benefit.

“This is consistent with the increasing interest CDW sees from customers in our offerings of server virtualization solutions,” added Cottingham. “There are a variety of options available, of course, and while built-in virtualization will not be in the initial Windows Server 2008 Release-to-Manufacture version when it launches on February 27, Microsoft is tapping into this market interest with their plan to integrate virtualization features into the server operating system later this year.”

Walker Information, in collaboration with CDW Corporation, executed the Windows Server 2008 Tracking Poll simultaneously with the third Windows Vista Tracking Poll, between October 31 and November 7, 2007. Seven hundred seventy-two IT decision makers completed the survey, resulting in a margin of error of ±3.5 percent at a 95 percent level of confidence. For a complete copy of the survey report, please visit http://www.cdw.com/server2008poll. For more information on Microsoft Windows Server 2008, please visit: http://www.cdw.com/content/brands/microsoft/windows-server.aspx.

About CDW

CDW®, ranked No. 342 on the 2007 FORTUNE 500 and No. 39 on Forbes magazine’s list of America’s Largest Private Companies, is a leading provider of technology solutions for business, government and education. CDW is a principal source of technology products and services including top name brands such as Acer, Adobe, APC, Apple, Cisco, EMC, Fujitsu, HP, IBM, Lenovo, Microsoft, Panasonic, Quantum, Samsung, Sony, Symantec, ViewSonic and Xerox.

CDW was founded in 1984 and as of December 31, 2007 employed approximately 6,300 coworkers. In 2007, the company generated sales of $8.1 billion. For more information, visit CDW.com.

Contacts

CDW Corporation
Barbara Crystal, 847-968-0710
bcrystal {at} cdw(.)com
or
O’Keeffe & Company, Inc.
Marty Nott, 585-271-1141
mnott {at} okco(.)com