Windows 7 has been touted as the easy-to-use upgrade to Vista. But IT professionals say that user "hand-holding" may be the biggest challenge for small businesses making the transition, according a survey of 200 small business IT professionals conducted by Citrix Online, a division of Citrix Systems, Inc. and MarketTools.

More than half (55 percent) of the respondents plan to implement Windows 7 in 2010, with many anticipating more than a small impact on their operations. The biggest hurdle – cited by 65 percent of the IT pros surveyed – is people’s limited understanding of computer operating systems and applications.

"The industry has looked on Windows 7 as the ‘un-Vista’ in terms of usability," said Justin Madison, VP of Engineering and Operations for Citrix Online. "But especially for companies jumping from XP to Windows 7, the biggest headache may still be user support."

"If more than half of small business IT professionals plan to migrate to Windows 7 in 2010, that translates to potentially 13-15 million small businesses making the migration in one year alone," said Gene Marks, noted author and SMB technology expert. "That is ever more reason for remote support technologies like GoToAssist to support these people in the migration."

The survey found that for many IT pros the Windows 7 transition will add yet another layer to their support duties. About 40 percent of respondents said they already spend from one day a week to half their time supporting software upgrades. Nearly half (46 percent) spend an average of 2 ½ hours a week supporting upgrades on top of their other maintenance duties. Even so, only 13 percent of respondents plan to hire additional IT staff for Windows 7 Support.