Two-thirds (66 percent) of the 655 surveyed IT decision-makers from North American and European enterprises and SMBs are planning to migrate to Windows 7 eventually, although most don't have firm plans yet.

Additionally, the research shows that 51 percent of respondents plan to have Windows 7 as the primary OS on their PCs within 12 months. Forrester also urges that companies should as it becomes more popular with consumers.

Here are five other key factors that Forrester believes will loosen Windows XP's grip on the enterprise and make way for Windows 7.

Businesses Are Supporting Old Infrastructure

Forrester's Gray writes that because of the recession, IT managers needed to lower costs by extending the life of existing desktops and laptops. Many also held off on hardware upgrades because they wanted them to coincide with a Windows 7 deployment. For global companies that support thousands of apps, compatibility testing can take up to 18 months. So if they've been testing in anticipation of Windows 7's release, full deployments will conclude by the end of 2010.