Windows 7's release and uptake will be very good for the health of Microsoft as a company, according to an expert.

Simon May, the author of the Rough Guide to Windows 7, explained that the organisation is currently at war with Apple in terms of brand stakes, though it has to make up for its mistakes after the "much maligned Vista" lowered the popularity of the firm.

However, things are most certainly looking up for Microsoft and the small businesses in IT which use the operating system it has just released, he continued.

Mr May said: "Virtually no-one has a bad thing to say about Windows 7, even Mac fanboys, and that can't be seen as a bad thing. Windows isn't Microsoft's only product, or even it's only big product, but it is key to its reputation."

It is a full 24 years since Microsoft released its first Windows operating system, launching Windows 1.0 back in November 1985.

A recent Connect survey found that the two major concerns about outsourcing services like IT support were 'loss of control' (56 per cent) and 'budget over-runs' (43 per cent).