Windows 7 Max Out Mobility

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1 BUSINESS SOLUTIONS Windows 7 Max Out Mobility Microsoft has loaded a plethora of mobile computing features into its latest operating system. Notebooks and netbooks are becoming today s computing platform of choice. The reason: Mobility means productivity. And as the number of mobile workers grows, so does the need for better performance and higher levels of security is increasing as well. According to Dan Shey, practice director, mobile services for ABI Research, the mobile business workforce grew by 10 million workers from 2007 to 2009 globally. Today, there are about 550 million mobile businesspeople worldwide, growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 3.3 percent. Focusing on the data and its fallout for business, Microsoft knew it would be wise to make its latest operating system more appealing to notebook users. And from all early indications, Windows 7 promises to be a hit. Windows 7 s strong suit isn t a wealth of new features, notes Howard Locker, director of new technology at computer maker Lenovo. While there are plenty of added capabilities that are sure to please, he says the significant improvements are in its speed, usability and reliability. The result: Mobile devices are delivering better-than-ever utility, connectivity, battery runtime and performance. This all translates to increased employee productivity while requiring less IT overhead. Boot Experience According to Jacob Hernandez, lifecycle marketing manager for business notebooks in the HP Personal Systems Group (PSG), Microsoft focused on fundamentals with this operating system release. And many of the enhancements are directly targeted to mobile computer uses. The Microsoft Windows 7 OS allows mobile users to take advantage of several performance enhancements that can make unproductive time on the road a thing of the past. If you only have 20 minutes between flights and those 20 minutes need to be productive then the time it takes to start up and shut down your notebook is essential. Microsoft hit the nail on the head with Windows 7 by providing noticeable performance improvements, particularly in the areas of startup and shutdown, Hernandez says. With Windows 7, you can boot up the machine in about 30 seconds. Locker notes that the suspend/resume feature long a frustrating experience for notebook users is greatly improved in Windows 7. The suspend/resume feature is used to manually shut down the system, and then start it back up in the same working state. It s truly instant on, he says. I close my lid, I suspend in a second. I open my lid, and I m back in half a second. Locker points out that the improved suspend/resume is one of those improvements that can add up to large productivity gains. This is due to eliminating the time lost because of shutdown and reboot. Hernandez also notes that the Windows 7 installation was fast compared with previous operating systems. And decreased installation times are beneficial when IT is looking at upgrading an enterprise environment. These performance gains were a direct result of the cooperation between Microsoft and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) such as HP and Lenovo during the design phase. Microsoft s Velocity program had the specific intent of figuring out what was slowing down the operating system and fixing it. It looked at the sequence of when certain drivers were loaded, such as video and network drivers. As a result, we were able to tweak drivers and utilities at load and startup so that users can enjoy a faster boot time, Hernandez adds. 1

2 We looked for areas where we could improve all aspects of the boot experience, says Tom Tobul, executive director, marketing enterprise systems, Software and Peripherals at Lenovo. Therefore, your initial boot time is dramatically improved, your time to suspend, time to resume, is all dramatically improved. Performance Enhancements According to Tobul, Windows 7 users can expect to experience significant performance improvements. These could amount to as much as 56 percent on comparable hardware versus Windows XP and Vista, he notes. With Windows 7, it only takes three clicks to get connected to the network, says Michael Westgate, marketing manager, Business & Marketing Organization, U.S. Windows Client at Microsoft. Simply click the wireless icon in the system tray, select the network and click connect. With 30 percent of the workforce working remotely or on the road, it s important for those traveling or not in corporate offices to get connected quickly and easily. For IT management within the organization, the Enterprise version of Windows 7 has a feature known as DirectAccess. When coupled with Windows Server 2008 R2 on the back end, it serves as a replacement for a virtual private network (VPN), Westgate adds. A VPN requires that you authenticate with two different servers. DirectAccess creates a singular, secure path from the mobile notebook directly back to the corporate network, in a single authentication, in one easy step, Westgate says. One Microsoft customer is expecting to save $40,000 a year by simply eliminating the use of the VPN. Access Connections, available on Windows 7, allows users to seamlessly roam between access points. It lets you automatically find the appropriate wireless access point to continue connectivity depending on the location where you re working, says Lenovo s Tobul. It s easier for ThinkPad notebook users to connect and get productive more quickly. According to Intel, notebooks powered by Intel Core 2 processors and running Windows 7 can increase PC responsiveness for greater productivity. It can also help to drive down management costs as, on average, a four-year-old PC can cost 59 percent more to support than it did in its first year. Security on the Road Mobile devices, in general, are considered more vulnerable to security breaches. According to the Symantec Global Internet Security Threat Report - Trends for 2008, published April 2009, the primary cause of data breaches that could facilitate identity theft was the theft or loss of a computer or other medium on which data is stored or transmitted. Without proper precautions, sensitive data could fall into the wrong hands. While Windows Vista was a secure operating system, the security enhancements in Windows 7 should provide about eight times the level of security in Windows XP, according to Microsoft s Westgate. Windows Vista was made secure with BitLocker, the encryption feature that lets users encrypt the hardware on notebooks. With Windows 7, Microsoft has extended the hardware encryption capabilities of BitLocker into BitLocker To Go to cover all USB and external devices. You think about the amount of sensitive data that s carried on these small plastic keys, Westgate says. It s a huge compliance threat to organizations. When PC owners can encode and encrypt these keys themselves, it enhances security when traveling or carrying these devices. BitLocker To Go encryption security features are available on the Enterprise version of Windows 7. Users simply plug in the USB device, find it in My Computer, click on it and turn BitLocker on, he explains. It prompts you for a passkey and encrypts the drive. Then you re ready to go. Without the key to unencrypt the data, it can t be read. AppLocker is another protective feature that lets companies manage which applications can be accessed, installed and run across the enterprise particularly those beyond the corporate firewall. This is accomplished through centrally managed and flexible Group Policies. 2

3 The IT department can set rules for what applications can be installed and used with AppLocker, says Westgate. It can be deployed on an individual machine or at the IT management level. For Lenovo notebook users, the company has tailored its ThinkVantage technology to the Windows 7 environment. The firm s Rescue and Recovery feature offers an effective backup and recovery solution. Many users don t take regular backups of their systems, says Lenovo s Tobul. Rescue and Recovery allows a user to set a schedule to back up not only data, but also the entire operating system and applications. Enhanced User Experience For the mobile user, battery life is key. The Windows 7 Desktop Manager feature allows IT administrators to set rules for power downtimes by shutting down unused applications and processes more efficiently than with Windows Vista or XP. Windows 7 is built within a smaller image size, allowing for more efficient computing and the ability to deploy across all machines, including notebooks and netbooks. This feature allows the operating system to idle faster and stay idling longer and then reboot and come out of standby much more quickly, thereby saving battery life. There are several additional new Windows 7 features that can help enhance the mobile user s experience and ensure productive time on the road. BranchCache: Available only with the Enterprise edition, BranchCache is a time-saving feature that simplifies remote connection to the network and speeds the downloading of important files. According to a 2008 study by Nemertes Research, 91 percent of information workers work away from traditional headquarter environments. Therefore, there s a lot of pressure on these terminals that are transferring data from the corporate network to branch offices. If a staffer wants to download a file that s a 20MB PowerPoint presentation, it might take five or 10 minutes. With BranchCache, once it s downloaded the first time, anyone else in the branch office can access it on a local server. Therefore, the bandwidth between the branch office and the corporate network has been saved, and the transfer time for that file is now measured in seconds. Policy management determines the amount of time the file stays in local cache. Offline Files: To protect against network outages, Windows 7 automatically allows staffers to keep files normally stored on the network, on their notebook. This allows workers to stay productive in the event of network disruption. With Offline Files, workers can disconnect from the network and still have copies of network files available offline. They can continue to be productive while traveling, and it automatically syncs up with network files once they log back into the corporate network. Presentation Mode: There s nothing more annoying when giving a presentation at a client site than having pop-up reminders interrupt the presentation. With Presentation Mode, staff can block pop-ups, instant messages and alerts to keep the presentation going smoothly. Location-Aware Printing: This is a direct asset for mobile workers. With this feature, staff can designate a specific printer to a specific network. Once connected to a specific network (either home or corporate), it automatically sets to a default printer for that location. From a mobility perspective, Windows 7 offers a wealth of welcome enhancements for both end users and IT administrators. With improvements in speed, security and administrative tools, the new OS promises to enhance the computing experience for notebook users. 3

4 Maximize Windows 7 Performance Boost productivity by adding to the Windows 7 experience. These manufacturers are gearing their products to further enhance Microsoft Windows 7 operating system capabilities. HP Notebooks: Provide your staff with enhanced touchscreen computing functionality by equipping the HP TouchSmart tx2 Notebook PC with the Windows 7 operating system. Intel Processors: Notebook PCs with Intel Core 2 Duo processors, vpro technology and the Windows 7 operating system deliver over 30 percent faster multitasking performance than a three-year-old PC, according to Intel. Core 2 processors with vpro technology also protect against malware and data loss. ASUS Notebooks: ASUS Eee Series notebooks, installed with Windows 7, will run 64-bit versions of the operating system. They promise a level of performance and security over and beyond that of notebooks running previous versions of Windows most notably up to 40 percent faster bootups and server-level security with enhanced core protection. Kingston Solid State Drives: Kingston s SSDNow V-series Solid State Drives (SSDs) are designed to speed Windows 7 boot-up time and operation. Based on multilevel cell flash, the drive offers 40GB capacity and features a sequential read speed of up to 170MBps and sequential write speed of up to 40MBps. Windows 7 Flavors Microsoft s new OS is available in six different editions. Business professionals will likely be interested in one of the three versions below: Windows 7 Professional This version will likely be used by small businesses. It offers all of the capabilities of Windows 7 Home Premium and adds the ability to participate in a Windows server domain. Additional features include: Remote Desktop, location-aware printing, Encrypting File System, Presentation Mode, Software Restriction Policies (not the extra management features of AppLocker) and Windows XP Mode. Windows 7 Enterprise This edition targets enterprise firms and is sold through volume licensing to companies which have a Software Assurance contract with Microsoft. Additional features include support for Multilingual User Interface (MUI) packages, BitLocker Drive Encryption and UNIX applications support. Windows 7 Ultimate This version of the OS contains the same features as Windows 7 Enterprise. However, unlike that edition, it is available on an individual license basis. Windows 7: Did you know? Trade publications and consulting firms are talking about Windows 7. Here s some of what they are saying: Microsoft and Intel engineers were able to reduce power usage of a Windows 7 laptop nearly 20 percent over an identical laptop running Windows Vista SP2. Source: InformationWeek.com Windows 7 s BranchCache feature will save $14/PC/year in network bandwidth costs for the City of Miami s 100 branch offices. Source: Computerworld 4

5 Windows 7 s DirectAccess and BranchCache features will benefit employees working outside headquarters which is 60 percent of employees, including 29 percent that work in branch or remote offices. Source: Forrester Consulting LET CDW CONFIGURE NOTEBOOKS WITH SOFTWARE PRIOR TO DELIVERY. CALL CDW TO TALK TO A SPECIALIST TODAY