Dell has announced a new migration service that will help companies move from Windows XP and Vista to Windows 7. Dell reports that it has already helped several large companies move to Windows 7 under early adoption programs. Among the early adopters that used Dell's consulting services were Baker-Tilly, Betfair, and Hoover City Schools in Alabama.

InformationWeek reports that the Dell service starts with an assessment that determines the application and hardware compatibility within the organization. This helps to determine the effects of migrating to the new OS on business processes, end users, and server infrastructures. The assessment results are used to design and implement a plan that includes training end users, and support staff.

Analysts think that with the economy starting to pick up and the fact that many businesses did not upgrade to Vista, mass migrations to Windows 7 will begin next year. Dell only recently started to aggressively expand into the services market form its traditional hardware business. Last month Dell purchases Perot Systems for $3.9 billion and plans to finish the deal in the fiscal quarter spanning November to January. The purchase was to help Dell better compete with other rivals that have diversified offerings allowing large corporate customers to get all the services they need at one location.

The upgrade process to Windows 7 has been panned by Apple's Phil Schiller. Schiller said, "Any user that reads all those steps is probably going to freak out.  If you have to go through all that, why not just buy a Mac?"