The new Windows Vista is highly recommended and it is mainly useful for a medium-sized information-service company and it rates higher than the current Windows XP for a number of reasons. Vista and XP are considerably different from each other with respect to different aspects. These aspects are important for any user and the Vista provides a better and more advanced level of these components. These elements or components that make Vista a better option are user and shell interface, administration and management, security architecture, and networking technologies.
Security architecture
The most important thing for a company is securing its data and information from getting into the wrong hands. Although XP is at present the leading Operating System in the market, it suffers from security issues and has performance problems. We need to upgrade our operating system from XP to Vista as its security enhancements will be a boost for the company. This is because Vista operates on a well-defined and effective secure networking technology, like domain and server isolation, and has improved its networking stack. Another important feature is the use of IPSec which is a protocol used to secure data packets and authenticate them. Nevertheless, Microsoft rebuilt the TCP/IP stack in Vista itself, thus, being able to include domain and server isolation techniques, which use IPSec for restricting access to the network. This will reduce the risk of virus attacks, worms and DoS. (Roberts, 2005)
User and shell interface
There are many areas where Vista outperforms XP, like in file copying operations, which is faster. In Vista, the User Account Control limits the nature and utility of the application software to general user privileges until the administrator increases the level of privilege. Thus, unauthorized users cannot make any inadvertent changes to the system settings, install malicious actions and perform various other acts. Even the administrator has to confirm his intentions giving security credentials before executing tasks. It has a File and Registry Virtualization feature, which enables it to avoid LUA bugs in the third party applications. (Koch, 2002)
Administration and management
Vista has Windows Defender, which scans and removes spyware and the BitLocker Drive Encryption that helps to protect data in stolen devices. The former can be downloaded but it is not accompanied with the application and the latter is not available in XP. With Secure Startup, integrity of information is intact even if our machine is lost or stolen. Vista will not install in drives formatted with FAT32 file system and the NT Boot Loader in XP has been replace by the Windows Boot Manager. Unlike XP, Vista has a sidebar feature, which allows quicker access to programs saving our valuable time.
Another remarkable feature in Vista, which is not present in XP, is Parental Control. Although, its main intention is for the parents to keep an eye on the children it can also be used in the office to keep an eye on the employees, denying them access to certain sites. There are many more facilities in Vista, which we can enjoy. We can organize and edit photos for company presentation using the Windows Photo which is absent in XP. It also has a System-level Instant Desktop Search feature which allows us to find documents and files, photos and even e-mails in a snap and is a lot quicker than the available Search option in XP. We can also organize the information in virtual folders. (Cooney, 2005)
Networking technologies
Vista has a Pervasive-Device Synchronization feature that allows us to synchronize data over multiple servers, PCs, PDAs and cell phones. It has Full-volume Encryption feature. Cool Graphics, Image-based Setup, UAP, Shadow Copy Recovery Service without Server, Windows Defender, Super Fetch, i.e. demand fetching enabling applications to load 3 times faster, Network Center, which has replaced My Network Places, Windows Future Storage, which is a new generation data storage engine, and Metro, which is a new document formatting tool, are among the best features of Vista that is unavailable in XP.
Thus, it is definitely necessary for our company to replace XP upgrading it to Vista, as it is undoubtedly better in its performance, has numerous rich features and manages computer resources better than XP. In addition, since Vista is a relatively new Operating System we can expect better performance in its later versions. (Cooney, 2005)
Conclusion
As a result, it is always preferable to use Vista in place of XP. It is true that the XP is considered to be stable by many old timers but the fact remains that as the Vista is more secure and has a more widespread and efficient networking technology, it is better to opt for Vista. It should also be considered that Vista scores more in the context of administration and management and along with it, the better equipped in the context of user and shell. Thus, it is certain that this is the best time to shift from XP to Vista for better performance and better security with the help of the latest technology offered by Microsoft.
References:
Cooney, Sue; (2005); Microsoft Windows Vista: What To Expect; Global Knowledge Network. Web.
Koch, Christopher (2002); “Enterprise Software Upgrades: Less Pain, More Gain“; CIO Magazine. Web.
Roberts, Paul F; (2005); Vista Stakes Its Future on Security. Web.