IBM tells employees not to install Windows XP update

While developers at Microsoft Corp. may be celebrating that they finished work on Service Pack 2 (SP2) for Windows XP, IT departments around the world now face the question on whether they should update their systems, or not.

IBM Corp., for one, is holding off on installing the security-focused update for Windows XP. In a note headlined "To patch -- or not to patch" posted Friday on its corporate intranet, IBM tells its employees not to download SP2 when it becomes available because of compatibility issues. A copy of the note was obtained by IDG News Service.

"While this patch may be good news for other Microsoft Windows XP owners, IBM is directing XP users not to install SP2," the note states. With close to 400,000 desktops, IBM is a very large Microsoft customer.

"IBM's large number of Web applications will need to be tested and some modified to work correctly with SP2. Currently, some high profile, business-critical applications are also known to conflict with SP2," IBM tells its employees in the note. "When the current issues and concerns have been addressed, IBM will deploy a customized version of SP2."

An IBM spokeswoman declined to comment on the company's internal IT issues.

IBM alerted its users on the same day Microsoft started the process of delivering SP2 to end users by announcing release to manufacturing (RTM) of the service pack. The Windows XP update will be available soon through downloads, retail distribution and free CDs, as well as on new PCs. A network installation package will be available for enterprise users.

SP2 for Windows XP is more than the usual roll-up of bug fixes and updates. Microsoft has made something of a trade-off, focusing on security at the expense of compatibility. As a result, SP2 can render existing applications inoperable. Microsoft has urged developers and IT professionals to test the update.

Not only IBM is showing evidence of compatibility issues with XP SP2. Microsoft's own software is also affected. Earlier this week the software vendor released an update for Microsoft CRM (Customer Relationship Management) 1.2 because SP2 will prevent the original application from running correctly.

Because of the broad changes, analysts have compared the XP service pack to a Windows upgrade instead of a simple update. Business users typically take much longer to install a new version of Windows than a service pack because of compatibility testing.

Thomas Smith, manager of desktop engineering at a large Houston-based company, hopes to be able to equip his 5,000 desktops with a customized version of the service pack before Microsoft pushes it out on Windows Update, he said.

Many of the desktops Smith manages are scattered throughout North America and connected using common high-speed Internet connections such as DSL (digital subscriber line) or cable. While the company uses a remote management tool supplied by Altiris Inc., Smith said he relies on Windows Update for patching. If the standard Windows XP SP2 distribution is applied to his machines, it will block access to several corporate Web applications, Smith said.