No Rush to Adopt New Microsoft Technologies

According to the survey, most Microsoft customers will continue to deploy technology based on the Windows platform, however users say their adoption of Microsoft's latest technologies will not be dictated by Microsoft's release schedule.

Over 300 IT managers who are using Windows NT or Windows 2000 responded to questions regarding Licensing 6.0 terms, receptiveness to Windows XP and the Windows.Net server family and adoption rates for Active Directory.

Regarding purchasing plans, Licensing 6.0 does not appear to have a dramatic impact on most users, according to the survey. The majority of IT managers told IDC they are either still evaluating the new licensing process effects or are not concerned with the changes it introduces.

Additionally, 15.4 percent of survey respondents say that Licensing 6.0 gives them a reason to seek alternate products, citing the increase in Microsoft's software licensing cost.

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There is no rush by businesses to adopt Windows XP or Windows.Net since many are still implementing Windows 2000.

Three out of four companies say they are only at the beginning stages of this adoption process, with many smaller organizations further along than larger companies, according to the survey.

Last month, Microsoft acknowledged major flaws in Windows XP that could allow hackers to steal or destroy a user's data files across the Internet or implant faulty software. The company urged consumers to quickly install a free fix that it offered for the home and professional versions of XP.

Such flaws could have threatened the widespread adoption of Microsoft XP, which many industry executives had hoped would provide an economic boost for the sagging technology sector.

According to market researcher NPD Intelect, retailers sold 250,000 copies of Windows XP in November--its first full month of availability--down from 400,000 in October.

In comparison, consumers purchased 580,000 copies of Windows 98 during its first month on store shelves and 350,000 within the following month.

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Active Directory adoption, according to IDC's survey, appears to coincide with the implementation of Windows 2000.

For a majority of users, Active Directory is the directory service of choice for their Windows environments, but there's been a reason for delaying implementation of the server operating environment.Thirty-six percent of survey respondents have delayed their Windows 2000 rollouts because of complexity issues associated with Active Directory.