Global automotive industry leader Ford has long relied on their Microsoft platform, including SQL Server 2003/2008, Microsoft Exchange 2003/2010 and Office 2003 to support more than 120,000 global employees. But as Windows XP reaches the end of its lifecycle, Ford’s IT department realized the benefits they could be experiencing with the advanced functionality of Windows 7 Enterprise. Determined to provide their employees with the tools they need to stay technologically ahead in the auto industry, they’re making progress on their migration to Windows 7.

“We look for solutions that will assist our employees to better function in our global environment,” said Eric Karsten, Senior Manager of Enterprise Engineering for Ford.

Ford kicked off deployment with their Digital Worker Program, and end users quickly benefited from the new tools and improved computing experience. Desktop virtualization was a key aspect of their ability to roll out Windows 7 while still providing seamless legacy support.

Because of the familiarity and long history with Windows XP, Ford IT expected some difficulties as employees became acquainted with Windows 7. However, they were pleasantly surprised how short the learning curve was as people leveraged online learning tools and became advocates for continued deployment across Ford. Soon, many of the end users became advocates for Windows 7 and wanted to know when their colleagues would be upgraded.

“We quickly heard request from others in the same department wanting to know when they could expect the upgrade,” said Karsten. “We saw this consumerization pull in all areas across the company.”

Karsten encourages other enterprises to begin their transitions now.

“We have been highly successful in migrating from Windows XP to Windows 7 – our advice is don’t be afraid to upgrade - the advantages far outweigh any deployment challenges.”

Hats off to Ford for upgrading to Windows 7! Read about more customers moving from Windows XP to Windows 7 here.

We’ll continue to share new information about best practices, tools and other resources here on the Windows for Your Business blog, and you can always get the latest technical support information you need to help you with training, resources and free tools to help you move off Windows XP and quickly deploy Windows 7 at www.springboard.com.