Today Microsoft and IDG hosted a webcast discussion where participants touched on a range of topics: from the flexible workstyles of today’s workforce to useful information on Windows 7 deployment. I found the conversation insightful so wanted to share a few key takeaways.

Kevin Sturgill, Director of Business Computing Services at TECO Energy, an energy and utility holding company based in Tampa, Florida, joined Jane Boulware, General Manager for the Windows & Windows Live Division at Microsoft, and Stephen Rose, Worldwide IT Professional Community Manager at Microsoft, for a conversation about how Windows 7 can help employees be more productive while also achieving better work-life balance.

TECO Energy Moves from Windows XP to Windows 7

I was excited to hear Kevin explain how TECO Energy recently upgraded their entire company to Windows 7. TECO Energy had been running Windows XP for over 10 years and was having productivity issues because of the old operating system’s limitations with delivering required security and manageability for their environment. To quote Kevin: TECO Energy “had just simply outgrown Windows XP and the computing capabilities that we had in place.” They now benefit from a more secure, more manageable and more efficient computing environment.

It turns out their upgrade to Windows 7 was well worth it from a financial aspect as well. TECO Energy estimates savings of about a million dollars in productivity benefits!

Consumerization of IT

Jane frequently meets with customers big and small and has heard a key theme across organizations of all sizes: consumerization is both a challenge and an opportunity.

The generation entering into the workforce right now is savvy with modern technology, from devices to social networking, and expect their information to be available to them anywhere, anytime, on any device. IT departments really want to be able to support their users today so that users can be productive and do their jobs well. However, there is a lot of complexity and cost in current enterprise environments, especially with Windows XP, making it harder for IT organizations to support the needs of their users. Jane is hearing from customers that they’re not only looking to move to Windows 7, but they’re planning ahead for an environment that will set their business up for success today and in the future.

Windows XP

Jane also shared guidance for customers still on Windows XP. As I’m sure you’ve read on this blog before, we all agree that Windows XP has been a great OS for many years, but it is ten year-old technology and was not designed for today’s business needs. The clock is ticking with the end of support for Windows XP coming in April 2014. While this may seem like a long time, both Jane and Kevin remind us that enterprise OS migration takes time, with typical enterprises planning, testing and implementation timelines. More importantly, customers can start realizing the value of having a modern desktop today, similarly to how TECO Energy realized tangible benefits from increased productivity, better security and PC management, as well as substantial cost savings.

Springboard

Stephen talked about the Springboard Series, a great resource for IT professionals. Available on TechNet, it’s a comprehensive site for technical resources, free tools and expert guidance to help IT professionals get ready for Windows 7 deployments. On Springboard, IT professionals will find the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) to help with deployment related tasks from image engineering to application testing to user migration, which also works great with System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM). Springboard also has detailed technical information on the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) tools, Windows Intune, Desktop Virtualization and other technologies that can help IT professionals deploy, manage and support Windows PCs and devices. If you’re an IT professional, I strongly encourage you to check it out as helpful resource for any stage of deployment.

To watch today’s discussion; a replay of the webcast is available here.