It's one week to Windows 7's release date of Oct. 22, and the Web is overwhelmed with tips and suggestions for how to migrate to Windows 7. IT Business Edge's own Michael Vizard offers some advice on picking the right Windows 7 systems vendor. His advice: Ask vendors to what lengths they are willing to go to ease your migration burden. These vendors are so eager to get customers to upgrade that they are willing to do almost anything to help make it happen, including providing access to all kinds of tools that help automate a lot of the Windows 7 migration process.

Gartner has also released tips for a successful migration to the new operating system.

1. Plan to be off of Windows XP by the end of 2012. While Microsoft will support XP until April 2014, independent software vendors will stop testing much earlier.
2. Begin work on migration projects now. With testing and planning, deploying a new OS typically takes between 12 and 18 months.
3. Don't wait for Windows 7 SP1 to begin deployment. Start work now and plan to switch to SP1 before rollout.
4. Budget carefully. Migration costs could run between $1,035 and $1,930 per user to switch from XP to Windows 7, and $339 and $520 to move from Vista to Windows 7.

Migration to a new OS is certainly not as easy as popping in a disk and installing the software. Time and effort is needed to make sure the transition is successful. But with all of the positive reviews for Windows 7 coming in, it looks like the effort might be worth it.

Here are some other Windows 7 resources available in the Knowledge Network.

• Windows 7 Pocket Guide Excerpt
• Windows 7 Features Checklist