Microsoft has confirmed it is giving enterprises the option of downgrading to Windows XP, raising questions over the adoption of its much-touted operating system (OS) -- Vista.

It has done so while simultaneously extending the availability of Windows XP till June 30, 2008. The software giant had earlier stated that Windows XP would be phased out by January 31, 2008 to give way to Vista.

It had to extend the deadline due to "demand from customers and partners" the world over, according to a Microsoft spokesperson.

The release of Vista came more than five years after the introduction of Windows XP. While it contains numerous new and reworked features-some of the most significant include an updated graphical user interface and visual style dubbed Windows Aero-the software giant's primary stated objective has been to improve the state of security in the OS.

THE BETTER BET? How much an upgrade from XP costs (Price in $)
	Version New	Upgrade*
Home Basic	199	99
Home Premium	239	159
Business	299	199
Ultimate	399	259

While Microsoft claims that over 60 million Vista licences have been sold globally, enterprises in India have been slow in adopting Vista mainly due to two reasons.

First, users have to upgrade to Vista at a cost (but since it is pre-installed in new PCs, this may not matter much for new users) and second, it requires a lot of memory. PCs need at least 512MB memory (1GB is what is recommended) making Vista an onerous OS for older PCs. The results are there to see.

While around 6 million PCs are sold every year in India, around 600,000 Vista licences have been sold since the enterprise launch on November 30, 2006.

Infosys [Get Quote], for instance, has migrated over 4,000 desktops to Windows Vista. TCS [Get Quote] has migrated over 2,300 desktops while other big customers currently rolling out the OS include Satyam [Get Quote] and the Larsen & Toubro group.

A Microsoft India spokesperson admitted: "From talking with our partners and customers, we're hearing that some of our customers need additional time to make the transition to Windows Vista. This is especially true for our small business and emerging market customers who generally have more limited IT resources."

The spokesperson explained that consumers buying Vista always had the option to downgrade to XP, which meant they could work on XP too.

Hence, manufacturers that sell pre-installed Vista can have Windows XP discs that could be included inside the box with PCs, or shipped to customers without requiring additional activation. While the initiative is a global decision, it is important for India where almost 90 per cent of the desktops use the Windows OS.

Microsoft has extended the availability of all Windows XP SKUs (stock keeping units) pre-installed on direct original equipment manufacturer (OEM) PCs and in packaged product from January 31, 2008 to June 30, 2008 worldwide. The Windows XP Starter Edition will be available in emerging markets till June 30, 2010.

Moreover, system builder (assembled PC vendors) OEMs will still be able to purchase all SKUs of Windows XP till January 31, 2009. But more importantly, customers will still be able to receive support from Microsoft under the extended support policy until April, 2014.

So is Windows XP a better OS? PC manufacturers do not agree. Raj Saraf, CMD Zenith Computer, says: "You cannot expect the users to change to a new OS in a few days time. The transition will take time. But the other fact is that Windows XP is still popular when compared to Vista."

Another industry player on condition of anonymity said, "Vista's acceptance among users, is beyond question. Enterprises are shifting to Vista as and when required. This is the reason why, Microsoft like its any other previous operating systems is still providing XP in retail outlets."

Besides, when a small business or large enterprise orders for more than 500 machines, and most of their applications are not Vista-ready, they want to use as per their convenience; and thus ask for older operating systems like XP.

"Microsoft has been very aggressive when promoting Vista. Hence we do see a rise in the uptake of the OS among the consumer level but in the corporate segment it will take another year or so for the transition to take place," says a spokesperson of a leading PC manufacturing company.