Many corporate Windows users already have the rights to upgrade to Vista at anytime because of the multi-year Enterprise licenses and Software Assurance upgrade rights they buy. Many are resisting the move, though.

The government of Fulton County, Ga., for example, is a Microsoft enterprise customer and tested the beta of Windows Vista three years ago as part of Microsoft's Technology Adoption Program (TAP). The county's IT officials came away so impressed that they initially planned or a year after its release.

Fast-forward to early 2009, and Vista is running on only a small slice of Fulton's computers. The county has resulting from lowered property taxes due to the real estate downturn in Atlanta and surrounding suburbs. That has left many employees using PCs that are 5 or 6 years old and running XP.

"We're stuck, and it's no fault of Vista," said Jay Terrell, deputy director of IT for the county government. "We're going to wait for Windows 7, though it's not because we [want to] wait."

Papa Gino's Inc. also plans to skip Vista for its 160 corporate employees, according to Paul Valle, CIO for the Dedham, Mass., restaurant chain.