"We think SMBs will lead the recovery because they're more flexible, especially in emerging markets," said Liao. "We expect the SMB upgrade cycle to start strong in Q4 beginning with Windows 7, and continue over the next three years."

Liao adds he sees Windows 7's release to really help spark the SMB PC refresh market, because the new OS is more user-friendly, easy to use and doesn't require as powerful a system as Windows Vista did.

Liao's bullishness over Windows 7 sparking SMB PC refresh is echoed by Intel's Crooke.

"Its an opportunity for SMBs to make a migration to something that helps them be more productive, and last longer (on notebook batteries) outside the office," said Crooke. "There's an ease of migration capability with Windows 7, and an additional layer of security. And technology like Intel's vPro helps with that security as well, allowing you to drive patching across systems much more quickly."