One thing you don’t see very often on corporate PCs and laptops: Windows Vista.

Nearly two years after introducing Vista, Microsoft is grappling with an unanticipated phenomenon: The latest version of its flagship Windows computer operating system remains a rarity in corporate settings. As a result, the software giant finds itself under acute pressure to stay on track with plans to replace Vista with the next version of Windows, code-named Windows 7, perhaps as soon as late 2009.

With the global economy stalling out — and with Apple Macs increasingly replacing Windows desktops and laptops in workplace settings — Microsoft can ill afford a repeat of the delays that beset the introduction of Vista. "They have to get Windows 7 right — and get it right the first time," says Laura DiDio, principal analyst at tech research firm ITIC

ITIC and Sunbelt Software surveyed 700 senior executives and found only 10% had deployed Vista in their organizations. Windows XP remained the primary desktop PC operating system for 88% of the respondents. Meanwhile, 77% reported some use of Macs, and 50% said they plan to permit wider use of Apple products, including the iPhone.

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