Survey: 84% won’t upgrade to Windows 7 in the next year

????By Philip Elmer-DeWitt

????Most enterprises will eventually migrate to Windows 7 — Microsoft’s (MSFT) newest version of the world’s dominant PC operating system — but they’re not in any hurry to do so.

????And half are thinking about switching to a non-Windows system, such as Apple’s (AAPL) Mac OS X.

????These are among the findings of a survey commissioned by KACE, a Mountain View, Calif., systems management company that hopes to cash in on what it is portraying as a bumpy transition.

????The survey of 1,142 IT professionals conducted in March by Dimension Research found that the vast majority (84%) are going to wait at least a year to upgrade to Windows 7, despite the generally positive reviews from beta testers.

????Fully 50% said they were considering leaving Windows altogether — up from 27% two years ago — and Mac OS X was the system they are most likely to switch to.

????Among the survey’s other findings:

????? 53% of those who will upgrade to Windows 7 say that they are doing so primarily to avoid Windows Vista

????? 67% state concerns about Windows 7, with 88% of those worried about software compatibility

????? 83% will skip Vista and migrate directly to Windows 7

????? 72% are more concerned about upgrading to Windows 7 than staying on Windows XP

????? 14% have already switched or started the process of switching operating systems (up from 11% in 2008)

????In addition to Mac OS X, enterprises are looking at a rainbow of Unix alternatives, as shown in the chart below: