There are countless advantages to deploying Windows 7 in your organization, whether you upgrade existing hardware, buy new systems, or both. According to 4sysops IT guru Michael Pietroforte, make sure you choose Windows 7 Enterprise or Ultimate instead of Professional. Why? Three words: BitLocker Disk Encryption.

BitLocker, of course, is the system-drive encryption tool that made its debut in Windows Vista. However, that version was widely panned for being overly complicated and time-consuming to set up.

In Windows 7, however, the tool has improved dramatically, to the point where Pietroforte considers it "a must for all PCs in your organization." He lists seven reasons why, including this one:

Disk disposal For every hard drive comes the time when the last journey to the scrap yard becomes inevitable. I know, you are a conscientious admin and erase every disk thoroughly with a special hard drive eraser tool. Don't blush now. You didn't do that in the past? I know, disposing of a couple hundred PCs is work enough and erasing just one big hard disk can take days. However, if all the disks in your organization are BitLocker encrypted, you can be a conscientious admin without erasing hard disks for weeks before you dispose of them.

Other points in BitLocker's favor include protection of confidential data, integration with Active Directory, and support for whole-system encryption, not just individual files and folders.

If you've been on the fence about which version of Windows 7 to deploy in your organization, Pietroforte makes a strong argument in favor of choosing one that includes BitLocker. We can't help but agree.

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