Sunbelt Software, a provider of Windows NT and Windows 2000 (Win2K) systems management tools and publisher of a weekly e-zine, conducted a nonscientific survey of the IT community in January about the reliability of Windows 2000 Professional (Win2K Pro). Sunbelt's customers equate desktop OS reliability with the ability to do more work, more of the time. Win2K Pro includes several important new features, including Windows File Protection, Driver Certification, and Windows Installer—all of which claim to enhance its reliability. However, the question that Sunbelt wanted to answer was, when users install and use Win2K Pro, how much increased reliability do these features translate into? The survey went to two of Sunbelt's most popular lists: MCSEs and NT systems administrators from a wide variety of Fortune 1000 companies, government institutions, and small businesses. Specifically, the survey asked respondents to compare the reliability of Win2K Pro, Windows 9x, and NT Workstation. With 1032 responses, results clearly indicate that Microsoft has hit a home run in desktop reliability with Win2K Pro. On average, Win2K Pro is three times more reliable than Win9x and two times more reliable than NT Workstation. In addition, 9 of 10 respondents said that Win2K Pro is more reliable than Win98, and 3 of 4 respondents confirmed that Win2K Pro is more reliable than NT Workstation. The responses speak for themselves. Early users told Sunbelt that Win2K Pro is perceptibly more reliable than Win9x or NT Workstation 4.0. In a nutshell, the users have spoken: Win2K Pro sets a new standard in desktop reliability. For more details on the survey, visit Sunbelt Software.
