IBM tells employees not to install Windows XP update

IDG News Service - While developers at Microsoft Corp. may be celebrating that they finished work on Service Pack 2 (SP2) for Windows XP (see story), IT departments around the world now face the question of whether they should update their systems.
IBM, 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 said 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 internal IT issues.
A Microsoft spokesman who asked that his name not be used said the company believes IBM's recommendation to its employees is prudent.
"Microsoft would expect any well-run IT organization to make the same recommendation," he said. Microsoft has "recommended all along that customers thoroughly test SP2 before deploying it" to ensure compatibility and avoid unforseen problems. IBM's recommendation, however, was made only to its employees and not to its customers, he said.
IBM alerted its users on the same day Microsoft started the process of delivering SP2 to end users by announcing release to manufacturing 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.
IBM isn't the only one showing evidence of compatibility problems with XP SP2; Microsoft's own software is also affected. The software vendor recently released an update for Microsoft CRM 1.2 because SP2 will prevent the original application from running correctly.
Because of the