Many analysts wonder if Microsoft's (MSFT) Windows 7 operating system - now under development - will cause businesses to slow their upgrade cycle to Vista, or forego it altogether to wait for Windows 7.

But if you believe Microsoft, Windows 7 is going to take years to develop and won't be out till 2011 - a date that's being hotly debated by analysts who believe Vista's weak customer satisfaction levels will drive Microsoft to release its new OS as early as 2009.

To get a handle on this, we asked 1,103 corporate IT buyers in February if their company will slow its adoption of Vista to wait for Windows 7:

An astounding one-in-four (26%) say their company is likely to slow its adoption of Vista in the next 12 months in anticipation of Windows 7. Only 18% said they are unlikely to slow Vista's adoption.

Talk about being between a rock and a hard place - Microsoft desperately wants strong Vista sales, but hope for something better in Windows 7 appears capable of cannibalizing Vista among a considerable percentage of the corporate world.

Maybe if Microsoft announces Windows 7 won't be out till 2025.....