Thinking about skipping Windows Vista? Please think again.

Here are five issues that Gartner suggests organizations thinking of skipping Vista should mull over:

1. Software Vendors Don’t Support Old OSes Long Enough

Although Windows XP will be supported with security fixes into 2014, many ISVs won’t support their products on Windows XP for that long, and Microsoft and the ISVs often won’t support new versions of their software on older operating systems, Gartner advises.

2. ISVs Don’t Support New OSes Soon Enough

Historically, according to Gartner, most vendors need a year or more before they support a new OS. When Windows 2000 shipped, it took some software vendors nearly three years before they supported it.

3. OEMs Will Deliver Fewer PC Models with Old OSes Each Year

Gartner predicts that in the near future, before Windows 7 can be deployed Windows XP drivers may not be available on the PC models you want to buy, forcing you to buy other models that may have different features or price points than you want.

4. Microsoft’s OS Delivery Schedule Is Unpredictable

Microsoft has said it will deliver Windows 7 about three years after Vista shipped (that is, the fourth quarter of 2006), but the company’s track record for shipping new versions of Windows on time is not good, Gartner notes.

5. Remember You May Need to Pay Microsoft for Upgrades

Businesses without SA (software assurance) must budget to buy software license upgrades. How much to budget depends on what downgrade rights Microsoft provides with Windows 7. Gartner predicts that Windows 7 will include downgrade rights to Windows Vista only. If this is the case, Windows XP PCs purchased in 2010, 2011 and 2012 will be bought with Windows Vista licenses so that XP can run until a Windows 7 deployment. As a result, organizations won’t have Windows 7 licenses when it is time to deploy, and will have to buy upgrades.

If Word 2007 is so great…

If what I am saying is true, then why invest in iRedline? Because, iRedline starts where Word leaves off.

Unfortunately (or fortunately for iRedline), Word 2007 is missing some essential features for law firms. What Microsoft has given us is a Ferrari engine in a 12-passenger van. Word’s comparison engine is fast, useful and will get us where we want to go, but just not comfortably. What iRedline adds is a turbo-charger, all-wheel drive and a van conversion, making Word 2007 a high performance, high mileage RV with all the internal amenities people would expect to have for long trips. Oh, and all this on 1950’s gas prices.

Figure 1 – iRedline 7 Comparison Dialog Box

Figure 2 – Redline 7 Work Flow Ribbon

An Enhanced Word Comparison Application

At first iRedline was met with a little puzzlement, because it was so unlike the standalone application firms were used to. I believe it is in its own product category. In a way, Esquire Innovations created a completely new paradigm in the comparison tool set that people initially just did not get.

After awhile, firms did begin to get it, but the first generation of iRedline was not market baked enough to compete for the top tier firms (in size). These firms were used to the standalone paradigm that created a single static result document with the “marked changes”. However, the comparison process (in this standalone model), was still outside of Word and not a part of it. I believed that would eventually be the standalone model’s downfall. Fortunately, many small to medium sized firms who could not, or would not, pay the high price for one of the “market leaders,” invested in iRedline and in Esquire Innovations.

The State of the Union

We are now at the threshold of a new generation of applications and development tools. More specifically I mean Vista , Microsoft Office 2007, OpenXML and .NET Framework. Microsoft was brave enough to burn the old “Office” and give us something that initially caused almost everyone to whine and moan. With most new and great changes, people do eventually come around, and I believe 2009 will be a huge year for Office 2007 migrations. Firms will quickly forget Office 2003 and its boring predecessors.

Back to iRedline

To appreciate iRedline 7, I want to first state an assumption I fully believe.

Word 2007’s comparison engine is so accurate and with a feature set so much more complete than its predecessors, that firms now have a completely new and viable choice – do they keep investing heavily in a standalone application, OR, can they now use Word 2007 exclusively?

I am betting the future of iRedline on firms choosing Word 2007 and foregoing the paradigm of standalone comparison applications. For legal work product, we do not need them anymore…period.