Microsoft has announced the release of Windows Vista Service Pack 1 Beta to a small group of beta testers. The planned released date will likely align with that of Windows Server 2008 which is being targeted to the first quarter of 2008. A white paper has details of the changes.
In addition to announcing Vista SP1, Microsoft is downplaying the importance of service packs, noting that patches and upgrades delivered on a constant basis over the internet via Windows Update lessen the need for these items to be grouped together into a service pack.
Will releasing SP1 be enough to convince corporate users to switch to Vista or are the advantages that Vista offers over Windows XP and Windows 2000 too few to warrant a change?