The push to move off Windows XP may accelerate as its support retirement date approaches; will stop shipping updates for the aged OS in April 2014.

But the increased faith in Windows 7, which Microsoft launched last October, is an even bigger factor, Hagglund maintained. "The vibes for Windows 7 have been very positive, especially when compared to Vista's," she said.

Hagglund highlighted some of the results from her survey to prove her point. IT professionals are almost twice as likely to say that they're planning to deploy Windows 7 than they were at the same point in Vista's career, while more than half said they would move to the new OS by the end of this year.

And confidence in Windows 7 has climbed since the OS shipped. Last April, 67% of those polled said they had concerns about the upcoming operating system; this year, only 56% said they did. "The difference was the release of the operating system, the biggest part of that from hands-on experience," Hagglund said as she explained why some in IT have changed their minds about Windows 7. "They're trying it at home, many of them, long before it comes to them professionally, so they know what it's like."

IT's specific concerns about Windows 7 have also changed. While 62% of those polled last April said they were worried about Windows 7's stability and 47% expressed concern over its performance, in the most recent survey, those numbers fell to 41% and 25%, respectively.