Windows Vista Launches for Business Customers

Microsoft made Windows Vista available to volume-license business customers in November 2006, before the consumer launch in January 2007. The operating system represented one of the largest architectural changes to Windows since Windows NT became the foundation of the consumer line.

Vista introduced User Account Control, a redesigned audio stack, a new display-driver model, BitLocker in higher editions, stronger service isolation, and a completely rebuilt TCP/IP stack. It also used the Desktop Window Manager to compose the graphical interface using the GPU. These changes improved security and graphics capabilities but demanded new drivers and exposed compatibility problems with older applications.

Business deployment therefore became as much a migration project as an operating-system upgrade. Administrators had to test drivers, security software, line-of-business applications, and Group Policy settings. Vista’s difficult rollout later influenced Microsoft’s much more compatibility-focused approach to Windows 7.