UPDATED 12:41 EDT / JULY 31 2015

NEWS

HP wants to help simplify the switch to Windows 10 for CIOs

Downloading Windows 10 is as easy as hitting the upgrade icon in the system tray for the average consumer, but it’s an entirely different story in large enterprises with upwards of tens of thousands of users to manage. The challenge lies not so much in the installation itself as moving the related organizational processes, which Hewlett-Packard Co. wants to help simplify with its latest service bundle.

The launch of the suite comes less than 72 hours of Microsoft Corp. releasing the new version of its operating system, too short of a window for customers to start looking at competitors, most of which have yet to introduce their own migration packages. But the average buyer of such services is no in rush to make the switch.

In fact, so many organizations are still trying to move applications off Windows Server 2003 in the wake of its support guarantees expiring that HP recently launched a targeted effort codenamed Operation Crescendo to help with the transition. But a no less significant portion will begin the preparations for the switch to Windows 10 in the coming quarters, and the HP’s new bundle provides a readily-available starting point.

HP Test Drive Services for Windows 10, the first of the four major components of the suite, offers customers assistance in setting up an initial control group of employees to test out the capabilities of the release. It’s a one-stop-shop kind of deal that includes all the necessary hardware, courtesy of the company’s consumer electronics business, as well as help with moving users’ settings, data and applications onto the new devices.

After that’s done and a company is ready to roll out Windows 10 to the rest of its workforce, the CIO will be able to choose between enrolling members of their team in a workshop to hammer out a plan for the migration or let HP take care of the legwork. According the company, the latter option involves its consultants handling everything from the initial installation to ongoing support.

The technology giant is also throwing in an software migration service for organizations that still rely on web applications designed to run in older versions of Internet Explorer. Most of the services in the bundle are available immediately except the managed company-wide transition offering, which will launch in October.

Photo via Microsoft

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