What Windows OS and Server mostly used in organizations nowaday ?

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bonvoyage628

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Wannabe Geek

Topic # 160473 7-Jan-2015 21:34

Hi guys, an IT student here

I am really curious about organizations in NZ

Do you guys know what Windows OS and Server are currently used by most organizations ?

I am interested to take Windows certification, and still confused between Windows 7 | 2008 or Windows 8 | 2012

As a student, I am still not sure which one should I take since I don't know the current organizations. That's why I asked you guys :D

Cheers !

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Reply # 1210216 7-Jan-2015 22:38

Don't know about server software as I'm not in IT and have never had anything to do with that end of things

As for desktop, I have been in a few places over the last few years, I haven't yet seen Windows 8 deployed in a single serious commercial setting. I have seen it being tested, but not a single instance where it has been deployed to actual users. Based on what I have seen, commercial desktop software seems to be mostly Windows 7, with a small smattering of XP (which is still around). I have also seen only one desktop still running Vista. I haven't seen Linux or MacOS being used at all - although, to be fair, I don't work in graphics/design type places where I would expect to find Macs.

My (employer provided) machine currently runs Windows 7. It does what it needs to do reliably and well, and I doubt there will be any change made in the next 2-3 years,

tardtasticx

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Reply # 1210221 7-Jan-2015 22:53

For large organisations you can nearly guarantee that they'll run either windows XP or 7.

My old employer and mums current employer (an Auckland DHB) upgraded to Windows 7 last year over about 6 months.
They had thousands and thousands of client machines over many campus' and even more end users.

One of my old employers (call centre) was running xp when I worked there in 2012. When I returned at the end of 2013 they had just updated to windows 7.

I think the reason many would choose 7 over 8 is because most end users would know how to use it right off the bat. Still has the start menu, same shortcuts etc. Just looks different. Windows 8 is just going to be too much of a learning curve and going to be way to expensive in terms of training because they won't be training them how to just do daily tasks, it'll be training how to use a whole new OS to most people.

That being said, I feel like knowing windows 8 and server 2012 can only do you good. A lot of the stuff in Windows 8 would be in windows 7 anyway, just takes a bit of a different path to get to. Most of the papers I done last year were teaching us Windows 8.
And one class had us start out with client machines and go through the upgrade process through windows 7 to 8, and from server 2008, to 2012 then to 2012 R2. That was really great because I learnt a lot about where the same features are in each OS, so if you have a class that does a similar thing I would recommend taking that if you could.

Anyways, best of luck and hopefully you're happy with your decision :D

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CamH

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Reply # 1210232 7-Jan-2015 22:55

We currently deploy only Windows Server 2012 R2 unless specifically requested otherwise, however we did a deployment recently of 2008 due to compatibility issues.

As for Desktop OS - We deploy a majority of Windows 7. We provide each customer with the pros and cons of both, but they generally pick Windows 7, however once Windows 10 comes along, I believe that will start replacing Windows 7 relatively quickly. We do Mac's as well, and that's always pretty straight cut Mac OS X Server with Mac OS X 10.10 (Yosemite), but we're finding the desire for this to be slowing down quite rapidly.

charsleysa

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Reply # 1210233 7-Jan-2015 22:57

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Go 2012, stick with the latest for server side. As for client side it ranges all the way from XP to Win8 so it really depends how specific you want to go. I would recommend you just go with the latest (Win8) and also touch upon Win10.

Regards
Stefan Andres Charsley

graemeh

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Reply # 1210234 7-Jan-2015 23:00

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There are also pockets of Windows Server 2003 in some organisations.

KiwiSurfer

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Reply # 1210242 7-Jan-2015 23:12

My workplace (55+ users across 14+ locations) is quickly migrating end-user machines to Win8. There are a few still on Win7/Vista/XP, as well as some using Server 2003 via Wyse terminals. By the end of the year probably all will be on Win8 (or a combo of Win7/8). Servers were Win2003 (at least the terminal server was) for a long time but I think that has now (or will be) upgraded. I don't do IT at my organisation so just my innocent bystander observation.

- James

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Reply # 1210262 7-Jan-2015 23:29

When I was at Vodafone they were migrating all the Desktops from xp to 8.1 acrosa the business, I assume the servers would have been upgraded at the same rime.

Where I'm at now we manage roughly 5500 users across NZ and AU and we run a mix of 2008, 08 R2 and 2012 R2 servers with a few 2003 servers waiting on migration.

As for desktops our primary build is Windows 7 however we are in the final stages of creating a deployment for 8.1 and have roughly 600 windows 8/8.1 users on the network already made up of Desktop, laptops , Toughpads and surface pros

freitasm

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Reply # 1210264 7-Jan-2015 23:33

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graemeh: There are also pockets of Windows Server 2003 in some organisations.

With six months to go for end of support life...

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Vocus

Reply # 1210268 7-Jan-2015 23:39

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Study on the latest O/S release. Don't worry about it too much, the principles are the same (someone is sure to disagree, but in my opinion Windows hasn't changed all that dramatically since Windows 2000) and your certification will be useful/valid for longer.

Lias

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Reply # 1210290 8-Jan-2015 00:33

Windows 7 and Server 2012 R2 here

Information wants to be free. The Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it.

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Reply # 1210293 8-Jan-2015 00:44

I'd also suggest looking at a cloud certification - there is a great new Free Online Microsoft MVA Course - Azure IaaS for IT Pros - which covers a lot of what you need to know in order to pass Exam 70-533: Implementing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions.

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Reply # 1210295 8-Jan-2015 00:48

You should also subscribe to our (Microsoft NZ's) TechNet and/or MSDN Flash newsletters:

* http://aka.ms/technetnz
* http://aka.ms/msdnnz

every fortnight we list events such as free hands-on training bootcamps (run by Thiago, Hannes, and I), new MVA courses, user group meetings and conferences. There are a bunch of hands-on training events for both Azure (Developer and IT Pro/Infrastructure) and Windows 8/Windows 10 coming up so keep your eyes out!

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reven

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Reply # 1210296 8-Jan-2015 00:53

We stopped supporting windows server 2003 years ago, same with sql server 2005. we install all our stuff on server 2012 r2 now.

graemeh

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Reply # 1210316 8-Jan-2015 06:50

freitasm:
graemeh: There are also pockets of Windows Server 2003 in some organisations.

With six months to go for end of support life...

Yes and a lot of those systems will still be running 2003 in 12 months, it amazes me that some organisations just will not spend money on keeping systems up to date and then you should hear them complain when they realise the only option is to upgrade the application, middleware, database and operating system all at once and with much greater risk than just doing one part at a time.

toyonut

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Reply # 1210342 8-Jan-2015 08:45

Its because it works and people don't tend to touch things that work. I'm sure there will still be people on XP celebrating the end of those annoying monthly patches

. There are still people using old systems just because they work. One of our clients uses a terrible 16 bit DOS text based system developed in 1989 ish because it still works. Its a testament to Microsoft's support of legacy systems that this works under Windows 7, but it is still terrible.

Really it depends entirely on the size of the business and their licensing agreement. Small businesses are likely to just have whatever the PC comes with and there will be a mix in an office. Larger businesses will likely try for Windows 7 as it is seen as a safe option. I know most tried to avoid Windows 8 if possible because of the perceived difficulty in using it. Windows 8.1 has changed that to some extent, but it is still seen as weird. Windows 10 may be the next big release to be seen as normal.
I could be wrong, but I think most licensing agreements now and also OEM's are not allowed to sell Windows 7 by Microsoft now. I can't remember where I read that though.

On the server side, 2012R2 is awesome and all new installations should be on the latest version unless there is a good reason for using an old version. There are still a lot of 2008R2 and even some earlier around. Study up for the latest. Servers are hopefully/normally managed by those who know why they are getting a certain version and don't get hung up about stupid things like interfaces unlike end users.

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