The ITS desktop support teams (Blue/Green) and other ITS staff members have started preparations for the introduction of Microsoft Vista and Office 2007/2008 to campus. This document summarizes the implementation plan. This plan description will be revised as needed.

Campus Move to Microsoft Vista OS
The Blue and Green Desktop Support Teams have been testing the Microsoft Windows Vista Enterprise Edition OS for several months. The present plan is to begin to introduce the OS on new college-purchased PCs beginning late in the second quarter of 2008, probably with new system replacements starting in May or June. There is no plan to have a “forklift” introduction. Instead, the OS will be introduced as systems are replaced on their normal cycle.

ITS has been purchasing “Vista compatible” systems for several months in anticipation of the upgrade, but has been installing Windows XP Professional Edition on those computers. These computers are ones that have adequate memory, disk space, and performance to support an upgrade to the Vista OS. It is possible that these Vista compatible computers will be upgraded from Windows XP to Vista, largely upon request and depending upon compatibility issues that could be uncovered. Current systems that are not presently equipped for Vista but that could be upgraded to a Vista compatible level will be considered for upgrade if the cost of doing so reasonably improves the utility of the system over its remaining life cycle. Older systems that are not presently equipped to support Vista and cannot be upgraded to a Vista-compatible level will be kept in service with their present operating systems until the end of the replacement cycle for those systems.

Download pdf Microsoft Vista/Office 2007/Office 2008 Implementation Planning Overview