After the failure of Windows Vista, Microsoft came up with Windows 7 and it has received a much better response than Vista. in fact, a lot of people believe that it will surpass XP in terms of acceptance. however a lot of companies have still not made up their mind regarding this new OS. most pressing issue for the IT admins would be to take care of the hardware upgrades that might be required to run the new OS. taking care of this and other issues can be time consuming and may turn out to be quite expensive if not done in the correct manner. though you can never be completely sure, you can always follow certain steps to increase the probability of a successful migration.

Evaluating current machines: this is the first step that one has to take. in order to install a new OS, you need to know information about the current system. the best way to go about this is by installing agents on end points which will provide you with all the information you need to know about the software as well as the hardware. you can also chose amongst various online apps that are available for this task.

Evaluating the machines: Once you have the information regarding the software and the hardware, you need to analyze the information and figure out whether the machines will be able to handle Windows 7, or would they require new parts and upgrades to continue.

Deciding the budget: you need to consider every machine and then figure out the expenses for the upgrades required. there are applications available online that will help you in determining the cost. this step is very important as it will prevent any wastage of money.

Backing up the data: this is again a very important part as the machines must be storing valuable data. the best way to go about this step is by installing a backup and recovery service on all the machines. this is especially important for those users that will be moving to completely new machines.

Refreshing the image: there are numerous ways of doing this. you can either do it through a manual installation of the OS, through the DVD, or you could use a imaging service. Irrespective of the method you opt for, it is very important that you include the backup data and the inventory of hardware and software details in the image.

Distributing the software: any software that was not present on the image should be installed in an automated fashion if possible. you should do this quickly to make sure that the end user has a hassle free experience.

Verification: after you have completed the above mentioned steps you should prepare a report about the software and the hardware of the new machines. Ounce you are done preparing it you should compare the details with report made before upgrading. you should look for any software that has not been installed. this will help you in making sure that the migration process went without any obstructions.