Microsoft’s Vista Challenge

Life is all about expectations. Overpromise and underdeliver at home, with your friends or in the workplace and expect to get your knuckles rapped or worse yet have your reputation sullied. Or both.

The world of technology, specifically Microsoft’s Windows Vista operating system, is no different.

Microsoft has been heavily criticized for the amount of time it took to release Vista, (5 years) and for the many delays along the way. The criticism has continued on unabated since the operating system’s release last year.

Some of the criticism directed towards the operating system, is undeserved. Yes, I said it. Vista is at worst, an adequate operating system. After months of use of Vista, it seems clear to me, that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Microsoft’s real problem is perception - users have been conditioned to dislike Vista.

The world’s largest software company proved the point with its recent Mojave experiment. where a focus group of 140 people experimented with an operating system that was nicknamed Mojave. The participants later learned that the operating system was actually Vista. According to the company, 94 of the 140 participants ranked Mojave higher than Vista after the experiment was complete but before they were told it was Vista that they had just used.

The technical issues users have encountered to date aren’t unusual. In fact, they are by and large the same ones Microsoft operating system users encountered in the 12 to 18 months after the launch of XP; businesses and consumers were slower to adopt XP than Vista. This may be due in part to the lifespan of an operating system but it speaks to the OS adoption patterns too.

That’s doesn’t mean users shouldn’t begrudge the technical hiccups they may have encountered but the negativity Vista has elicited is odd and intriguing.

So why the visceral reaction to Vista? Apple is one reason. Its Vista-bashing ads are effective at best and entertaining at worst. Its Mac computers aren’t too shabby either and the uber popular iPod have renewed interest in all things Apple.

The real issue for Microsoft may very well be expectations. Microsoft’s development hiccups en route to the Vista launch put the OS behind the 8 ball from the start. People expected the world of it. Short of transforming the world of personal computing, Microsoft was bound to fall short of expectations, which were high given the length of time it took to produce the OS.

The tide, lately, has shifted somewhat as it seems enterprises are starting to implement it though the base of users is still relatively small. This is due in large part to the release of service pack 1, which was released in April. If history is any indication, the Vista service pack will pave the way to greater enterprise adoption; the security enhancements will probably be of greatest interest. The fact XP is no longer being sold (officially) will help the company ship more copies of Vista too. Working against the company are the U.S. and Canadian economies of course which could be headed towards a recession.

Microsoft’s renewed interest in the marketing of its operating system, which includes a US$300-million ad campaign, can’t hurt. The company has let Apple shape the image of Vista for some time - the counter efforts are necessary if the company is to convince users of Vista and Windows 7, the next-generation operating system, are viable products worthy of their attention.

Don’t be surprised if Microsoft says very little about Windows 7 release dates given its history with Vista. However, it is expected the next-generation operating system could be released as early as the fourth quarter of next year. Whatever the schedule, expect exec Stephen Sinofsky to adhere it; the lessons of the Vista launch will be heeded.

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