Windows 7 an 'impetus to move forward'

The Channel recently spoke with Ben Green, Microsoft’s Business Group Manager, about the launch of Windows 7 and the company’s hope for the software to help fuel the IT economy.Green said that there are correlations between software and its broader economic impact and that the interest in Windows 7 is a good sign.“All things considered, a dollar spent in IT, we believe, has an accelerating effect in the economy and I think the interest in Windows 7 is a good leading indicator,” he said.Beyond interest from the general public, partner interest in the new launch has been significant, and a Windows 7 reseller event this week sponsored by Ingram Micro had to be moved to a larger venue based on the amount of partners who wanted to attend.Green said that there are already more than 50,000 New Zealanders who have downloaded either the early release or the beta version, which makes Windows 7 the biggest outreach Microsoft has ever done in terms of driving trial software.He also said that another sign of positive feedback is the partner adoption rate and said that Microsoft’s top 20 partners in New Zealand will have Windows 7 running on 80% of their desktops by its official launch date on October 22nd.“The partner uptake has been really incredible,” Green said.He said that such a large percentage of upgrades isn’t “a trivial task” and that it requires both time and cost from partners.He added in regards to partner uptake: “They’re not doing it just because they like Microsoft, they’re doing it because the product quality is so strong and the promise that we’re making is really encouraging.”There are a number of events being held by various partners, and Green said: “Windows 7 launch isn’t just about Microsoft being the only one telling the story, it’s about our partners using it as an opportunity to reach out to their customers.”