Evidence: Combat common concerns related to migration and upgrades Many business leaders struggle to understand the return on business investment offered by desktop migration and upgrade, even when the benefits are clear to IT managers and specialists. In addition, corporate policy and legacy constraints can hamper both the sales and implementation process. Following is a selection of 'evidence' that can be used to help combat common concerns and enable new deployments.     Support and Availability       About 50 percent of the installed base of Windows-based PCs is running Microsoft® Windows 9x or Microsoft® Windows NT Workstation with Microsoft® Office 97. These products are nearing the end of their lifecycle and customers will eventually have to upgrade or replace these PCs to continue to receive support and security patches.     Cost of Management and Maintenance       Aging PCs running older operating systems and applications cost more to own and manage than newer platforms. An old PC requires more frequent service calls, has a greater number of driver issues and is more vulnerable to virus breaches than a newer model. Migrating to new client PC platforms and desktop software produces measurable cost savings, reduces environmental complexity, and helps companies avoid future large-scale upgrades. A 2003 META Group study reports that companies migrating to Microsoft® Windows XP experienced up to a "50% reduction in OS-related help desk calls, increased end-user satisfaction, and 10% or better reduction in operational costs". The report also noted that customers in general have been able to leverage newer plug-and-play capabilities to consolidate images and reduce image management costs by 50% or better.     Need for Mobility       Despite the slowdown in the global economy and PC saturation in mature markets worldwide shipments of portables (notebook and tablet PCs) is experiencing double-digit growth. With cost savings, security enhancements and increased productivity, it's no surprise that notebook system sales are expected to grow at a 19 percent cumulative annual growth rate through 2005. By 2006, 66 percent of U.S. workers will be classified as mobile workers. According to research from Gartner Consulting the total cost of ownership (TCO) associated with a mobile PC has significantly declined, making it more affordable than ever to provide mobile systems to corporate users. Mobile PC users are substantially more productive and efficient than wired PC users. According to a 2001 study by Gartner Consulting, Mobile PC users with wireless connectivity are 41% more productive than mobile PC users with wired connectivity and gain an additional 7.5 hours per week of productivity. Deciding to replace aging desktop systems with new notebook PCs can bring additional productivity benefits to many businesses, and Microsoft® Windows XP and Microsoft® Office 2003 are uniquely placed to meet this increasing demand for mobile solutions.     Enhanced Security       PC clients are an important link in the security chain. In addition, the growing public interest and debate around corporate compliance is having a far-reaching impact on many corporations across different industries and geographies. Governments around the world have passed new legislation that requires companies to help protect employees, investors and entire communities from improper corporate behavior. Migration to Microsoft® Windows XP Professional and Microsoft® Office XP/2003 supports stronger security, including firewall and virus protection, VPN support for secure remote dial-in and built-in smart card support for more defensible authentication and authorization.

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