Six in 10 companies in a survey plan to skip the purchase of Microsoft Corp's Windows 7 computer operating system, many of them to pinch pennies and others over concern about compatibility with their existing applications.

Windows 7 will be released October 22, but has already garnered good reviews, in contrast to its disappointing current version, Windows Vista.

Download the new Independent Premium app Sharing the full story, not just the headlines

Many of the more than 1,000 companies that responded to a survey by ScriptLogic Corp say they have economized by cutting back on software updates and lack the resources to deploy Microsoft's latest offering.

ScriptLogic Corp, which provides help to companies in managing their Microsoft Windows-based networks, sent out 20,000 surveys to information technology administrators to learn the state of the market.

Many companies have rejected Windows Vista as unstable. For example, the chip maker Intel Corp, Microsoft's long- time partner in producing personal computers, has stayed with the older XP system.

The survey found about 60 percent of those surveyed have no plans to deploy Windows 7, 34 percent will deploy it by the end of 2010 and only 5.4 percent will deploy by year's end.

Forty-two percent said their biggest reason for avoiding Windows 7 was a "lack of time and resources."

That dovetailed with another part of the survey, which found that 35 percent had already skipped upgrades or delayed purchases to save money.

But there were reasons other than money for staying away from Windows 7. Another 39 percent of those surveyed said they had concern about the compatibility of Windows 7 with existing applications.

The survey quoted Sean Angus, a senior personal computer technician at Middlesex Hospital, as saying he would wait until the first "service pack" was released for Windows 7.

"The IT department must complete thorough testing to ensure that the applications we rely on each day, specifically radiology information systems and financial applications, will be compatible, before deploying any new platforms or software to our 1,500 desktops," he added.