I’m pretty sure that it has sunk in to the people of Microsoft by now that their deployment of Windows Vista has been an utter disaster. Vista has been out for over a year and a half now and it looks like there is only about a 14% adoption of the new OS.

This should serve as a warning for all other software developers out there and software companies. It is really easy to screw up your market and turn your clients against you.

This has prompted me to provide you with some lessons that we should all have learned from the Vista debacle.

Just because you decide you are going to lead does not mean that others will follow.

Microsoft figured they had it all figured out. Windows XP was arguably the most popular operating system on the market and the most successful version to date. Now was the time to lead the sheep clients to a bold, new OS.

Unfortunately, computer users like to think for themselves. They will not purchase something new just because they are told to do so.

Some of the more common alternatives that users went with other than buying Vista include:

1. Doing nothing and sticking with Windows XP
2. Buying a Mac
3. Learning Linux
4. Putting off purchases in the hopes that something better comes along

Lesson: Let your clients lead. Get to know what they want and put in the new options that they want, not what you think will make you money. Make the client happy and the money will find you.

Terms like “better”, “easier” and “improved” are subjective.

I will be the first person to admit that there are some definite improvements to the way that things are done in Vista. Yet, I often miss the way things were done in XP.

Microsoft has told us that Vista is better, easier and improved. Does this mean that XP was worse, harder and crappy? Of course not! So if many people feel that this is inaccurate, your credibility may just go out the window.

Lesson: Make certain that any claims you make about your new product does not reflect poorly on your old product and can be, more or less, agreed upon universally without leaving much room for opinion.

People will not change for the sake of change.

There is a certain geek element out there that want the latest and greatest in anything that you make. These are the types who stand in line for the new iPhone, even though they will not be able to get service for several months.

But, the majority of your clients do not fall into this category. Rather, they are cautious and are concerned about spending their money.

Lesson: You need to give your clients a reason to upgrade and change. Without that, they will not part with their money.

More options are not always better.

Have you ever stood in the cereal isle at he grocery store? Have you ever tried to decide which cereal to buy? It is insane how many different types and brands of cereal there are out there. Different manufacturers have knock off versions of other brands. Manufacturers try to create a new cereal by simply changing something small about one of their old cereals. It’s almost enough to make the buyer go cereal serial.

It appears that Microsoft hired all of their marketers from the cereal industry. They have split Vista into multiple editions and made the selection process so confusing people are not even sure how many editions there are. There could be four, five or six, depending on who you ask. And this does not even take into consideration OEM and open licensing. How is the average consumer suppoed to decide?

Lesson: Make your product models/editions/versions simple and easy to understand. Preferably, make one model and allow them to purchase additional options, much like the automotive inductry (but stay away from the upgrade bundle concept).

Trying to force users to upgrade will just make them find other ways of doing things.

Windows XP can no longer be purchased from Microsoft. This has been the case since June 30, 2008. They had announced that this was going to be the case back in April but they decided to postpone it. But, as it stands, you can not purchase a Windows XP from Microsoft.

Has this stopped people from selling it? No way! In fact, Dell is turning this into big business along with other companies.

Lesson: Do not try to force the hand of your clients. If they do not like your new product, they will find ways to stay with the old and send you less money in the process.

Don’t make people relearn something they already know.

With so many “improvement” in Vista, it is really difficult to know how to navigate around the system. While it may be more intuitive for a new user, the vast majority of people who will be using Vista will be those who have experience in other versions of the Windows operating system.

I know as someone who is technical, this really put me off because I’m not really interested in learning a whole new operating system, especially when I am finding it harder and harder to learn new things.

Lesson: Make your new product intuitive for both old and new users.

Make sure that those who are selling and supporting your software are on board with the upgrade.

I think that one of the biggest reason that Vista has done so poorly is that it failed to be adopted and promoted by the people who are in the trenches. I mean the techs, company computer guys, and sales personnel. Since these people were not behind Vista, they were not recommending it to friends, family and clients. This is where a new product is made or destroyed.

Lesson: Make sure that those who are speaking directly with the people who are parting with their money believe that your new product is the best version of the product ever made. Ensure that these people know as much about the product, they are excited about the product, and that they are using the product themselves every single day.

Don’t make people choose between functionality and aesthetics.

There are a very small number of people out there who will choose something useless that looks pretty over something that just gets the job done. Unfortunately, Vista, while it looks really nice, often does not get the job done.

Many people, especially those who decide to upgrade to Vista, find that the cost of all the bells and whistles means that some of their old hardware and software does not work and their system is now slower than ever.

Lesson: Focus your attention on ensuring your product gets the job done. If you have time and it is warranted, make it look pretty.

Make sure your product is ready for the market.

Even Steve Ballmer admits that they messed up the release of Vista. There are too many incompatible software packages that were critical to business and many hardware manufacturers had not gotten around to finishing up releasing new drivers for existing hardware.

All this made Vista a show stopper before people even looked at it.

Lesson: Make sure your product is usable by the largest audience possible with as few barriers to upgrade or replacement as possible.

Don’t force a hardware upgrade unless you absolutely have to.

This has goe to be one of the biggest complains made by users. Vista rarely runs well on hardware that XP was more than happy to work on. So now, the cost of purchasing Vista has just gone up significantly. This can get very expensive, expecially if they are part of a large business that has hundreds or thousands of machines to replace.

Lesson: Try to keep the collateral cost of upgrading to a minimum. Do not make people buy new products or add-ons unless they absolutely have to.

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