So who's using Win8 in a corporate environment?
- Thread starter thedoc46
- Start date
Soldato
- Joined
- 18 Oct 2002
- Posts
- 8,307
- Location
- The Land of Roundabouts
Our laptops are win8, I've found it a lot better than Win7, plus direct access is a god send and the users love it! (ok DA works in win7 but its a faff)
I will think about rolling it out to our Desktops when 8.1 is released along with office 2013, but 2013 will be done first. I imagine a few would have heart attacks getting both at the same time!
I will think about rolling it out to our Desktops when 8.1 is released along with office 2013, but 2013 will be done first. I imagine a few would have heart attacks getting both at the same time!
We've got a few places onto it when they got new laptops, one place is completely win 8 which was a headache at first (so many support calls asking where shut down was) but once people get used to it they seem happy enough. Half the schools we look after are on windows 2012 and I find it much better to work with for some reason.
We rolled it out in the office 2 weeks ago. 2012 server. We've been selling and installing 2012 for months now though.
We too have been downgrading to 7 on the majority of workstations. Some users seem to struggle with the transition.
We too have been downgrading to 7 on the majority of workstations. Some users seem to struggle with the transition.
Permabanned
- Joined
- 9 Aug 2008
- Posts
- 35,711
No way will Windows 8 be going on any systems where I work guaranteed!
Associate
- Joined
- 3 Dec 2011
- Posts
- 167
- Location
- North West
I support 1 win8 laptop which belongs to a director.
Until my warranty's are up and we upgrade the entire network i'll be sticking with win7.
Until my warranty's are up and we upgrade the entire network i'll be sticking with win7.
Soldato
- Joined
- 18 Oct 2002
- Posts
- 8,307
- Location
- The Land of Roundabouts
The biggest hurdles i'm coming across is IT admins who have just got cofortable with win7 and not willing to let go of it so soon. XP's long lifecycle has a lot to answer for!
Win8 is now filtering through to the homes and i'm finding end users more than willing to upgrade.
a lot of Corporations/Admins are in for a big shock if they are not at least entertaining the ideas of Windows 8 and beyond!
Server 2012, Lync, Sharepoint, Exchange, Office & Win8 etc all come together to create a rather impressive collaboration of products which all work very well together.
Soldato
- Joined
- 5 Dec 2010
- Posts
- 3,322
- Location
- deep space nine
our company has only just upgraded to win 7 from xp. In the last 2 months. Be at least a decade before they do it again
Its a PITA!!
Whilst all laptops are setup with Win 7 as standard, unfortunately finding a Tablet these days with Win7 (and associated drivers) is a right mare!
Let me get this right - Win 8 sucks for corporate use! It's like theres no appetite for it so software vendors aren't exactly rushing out newer compatible versions.
Encryption doesn't work, AV needs upgrading, new VPN client, blah blah - all of which I wouldn't mind but the fact SCCM 2012 requires upgrades (to latest sp, and then some!) our AD infrastructure would ideally need upgrading too!
No way this is gunna happen over night!
If it wasn't for the fact machines supplied with Windows 8 no longer have support for Win7 drivers - I'd avoid like the plague. Whilst I'm loving it at home on my own PC - no way at work!
It's one thing trying to get a 'home user' to use it and adapt to the changes - but you try rolling it out to 7,000 laptops which belong to people who can barely switch the darn things on!!
Whilst all laptops are setup with Win 7 as standard, unfortunately finding a Tablet these days with Win7 (and associated drivers) is a right mare!
Let me get this right - Win 8 sucks for corporate use! It's like theres no appetite for it so software vendors aren't exactly rushing out newer compatible versions.
Encryption doesn't work, AV needs upgrading, new VPN client, blah blah - all of which I wouldn't mind but the fact SCCM 2012 requires upgrades (to latest sp, and then some!) our AD infrastructure would ideally need upgrading too!
No way this is gunna happen over night!
If it wasn't for the fact machines supplied with Windows 8 no longer have support for Win7 drivers - I'd avoid like the plague. Whilst I'm loving it at home on my own PC - no way at work!
It's one thing trying to get a 'home user' to use it and adapt to the changes - but you try rolling it out to 7,000 laptops which belong to people who can barely switch the darn things on!!
Last edited:
No, you got that wrong. Windows 8 is fine for corporate use, in fact, it behaves in the same way as Windows 7 for the most part.
No idea what you are even talking about. Any Windows 7 software will run on 8. If you are looking for Modern UI apps to publish across your AD, then we write our own appx's and publish with SCCM.
Yes it does
SCCM pushes out Forefront Endpoint Protection no problems at all.
New VPN client from which provider? We run the same version of Cisco AnyConnect across 7 and 8, even if we didn't, the ASA5512's take care of that and upgrade the clients on connect (or via the web portal).
My thoughts exactly.
You really should be running System Center 2012 SP1 anyway, 2012 was full of random holes and bugs. R2 is beautiful, but I'd understand why upgrading to R2 is a bit more of a faff.
No, it's not. But any IT administrator worth his salt can schedule a project to upgrade System Center in a relatively quick timeframe. It's not as if SP1 hasn't been out for donkeys years anyway, and it's not as if Windows 8 snuck upon you overnight!
x64 drivers for Windows 7 will run on Windows 8 x64, and x86 drivers for Windows 7 will run on Windows 8 x86. No idea why you'd think any different?
Seems like a lot of negativity there against Windows 8, when in fact, the actual problem appears to be the mentality of the IT department.
I don't think there is any doubt that there is some good technology in it and it is a good system, the issue is that a lot of people don't like the interface very much (specifically the start screen and hot corners rather than a start menu with a button) ...it's not a matter of them adapting and 'getting with it' so to speak, Microsoft are trying tor force people, a lot of people, down a path they do not want to go ...at least not quite in the way Microsoft wants. fact is, Windows 8 is very unfamiliar to a lot of people and people do like familiarity.
It is also an expensive proposition for many, as it requires staff be 'familiarised' with it, in other words, sent on a training course. Not technical staff so much, but the ordinary users.
Personally, with the addition of a Start menu, I actually rather like it now, it has grown on me. Some of our customers use it and I know the consultants where I work are using it, I am not yet. We have a Server 2012 test bed aswell at the moment, as it's a matter of time before a customer orders a server with 2012.