Angus This is a really good article and should be a case study on how not to manage change in an organisation. Regardless of the technology or solution when the end users 'push back' on change you can either demonstrate the value in the product and the IT department or give in and accept that staff do not value the IT and the IT department do not have confidence in their own skills.
We had the exact opposite - now running 8 and 2012 on more machines all other OS types put together and really appreciating the speed increases, quicker navigation of the windows desktop, integration of apps, much better security ... The timescale of the article is very interesting as while the final OS was released in August there were no apps until the public release as they all had to be re-compiled and tested on final code. Also in October there was a major patch (160-ish Mb) which was like a mini service pack. Internally while we have been using the product for over a year we only just consider it as fully released. Our end user feedback has been very different with the semi-techies as the hardest crowd to please as they have a little knowledge picked up via Google and no desire to change their ways. We find 10 minutes of show-and-tell and then a few quick refreshers over the next few days a very easy way to get the new features across. Responses have ranged from "Great" on older kit to "Awesome" for Win8 on Win8 hardware (which has only been available to purchase for about a week). The author makes a really good point about how an IT platform can unravel if there is not business case or reason for specific parts of it. A business can evolve and change and the technology need can change - along with the maturity/stability of a solution. We are currently finding a significant number of our clients with Apple hardware are struggling to understand why after 2 years their support option is to replace while their 4-5 year old boxes are still performing well and still fully covered under manufacturers warranties and get full support from Microsoft. To me it seems like Windows 8 has shifted the technology landscape in a way that last happened with windows 95. All the old logic is being tested and for a lot of companies there is a moment of truth that they are simply employing technology to fix what is broken in their business processes as that's easier than coming to terms with changing their business model. What's really interesting is looking back at those companies who embrace change and are thriving compared to those who saw no value in using to technology to manage their business. Mike -----Original Message----- From: Angus Scott-Fleming [mailto:angu...@geoapps.com] Sent: 07 November 2012 03:03 To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: The Ripple Effect of Windows 8 - Datamation Fascinating article. The Ripple Effect of Windows 8 - Datamation http://www.datamation.com/applications/the-ripple-effect-of-windows-8-1.html When our firm's employees found Windows 8 too unwieldy, we transitioned to Linux Mint instead and soon found that we didn't need any Microsoft products at all. I have known the author online for a couple of years, he's an active Spiceworks user and an experienced Windows admin. Angus -- Angus Scott-Fleming GeoApps, Tucson, Arizona 1-520-290-5038 Security Blog: http://geoapps.com/ ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to listmana...@lyris.sunbeltsoftware.com with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin
