Windows 7 needs to bring with it the redemption of Microsoft.

This Is Not a Date-Driven Release
We have things where we say
The train is leaving on this date
Whoever has their act totally together
By that date the train will leave
And the train could have a lot of people on it
Or it could be
Fairly empty
—W.H. Gates III

There was once a time when Microsoft could accomplish quite a lot in such a short timeframe. Windows 98 was released in June 1998, and within only 40 months’ time, Microsoft had released two major desktops OSes: Windows 2000 in February of 2000 and Windows XP in October of 2001. (Not to mention Windows ME in 2000, as well.) Sure, there were two separate teams involved back then, when there was a bifurcation between NT and the consumer desktop.

Once vista was launched in a couple of weeksas mentioned , it took Microsoft about 16 months to deliver the first Service pack for Windows Vista (Vista was released for businesses in November of 2006). A November 2009 release of Windows 7 would have afforded roughly 36 months of time between Vista and Windows 7, or a little more than twice the time consumed by Vista SP1 efforts. Keep in mind that a Windows 7 Milestone 3 in Q3 2008 leaves about a year for beta testing; by this time, the build should be very close to feature complete. As such, this would mean that Windows 7 would need to reach feature-complete status over the next nine months (or, within ~24 months of Vista being released to manufacturing).

To regain its strength, Microsoft has to do two things. First, it cannot let Windows 7 ship without the spit and polish that Windows Vista didn’t get. When time hasn’t been spent on refining the experience, the rough edges come to annoy customers. Everything put in the OS needs to be ready for prime time, or be left out. That’s not a timing issue, but a philosophical one. Related to this, Microsoft must therefore not bite off more than it can chew.

Second, and more importantly, Windows 7’s milestones, beta process, and release to manufacturing should not be date-driven, but by the company determining what Windows 7 needs to be a truly worthy release. Rather than worry about Software Assurance customers, Microsoft needs to worry about righting its ship. If Windows 7 is a bomb, there won’t be many Software Assurance customers left to worry about appeasing.

Categories: Business
Tags: microsoft, Windows, Windows 7