SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- When Microsoft Corp. launches Windows 7 later this year, the new operating system is likely to stoke wide-ranging technology sales as big corporate customers act to uncork their pent-up demand, analysts say.

In a new report, analysts at Deutsche Bank predicted that the release of Windows 7 on Oct. 22 "could trigger significant new investment across the technology value chain." That investment could outpace the same uptick in demand seen after previous operating-system launches, including the popular Windows XP as well as Windows Vista, which has been widely seen as a disappointment.

"The resulting upgrade cycle could develop into a powerful revenue driver benefiting both software and hardware plays globally," the analysts wrote in their report.

In a recent survey by Deutsche Bank, 34% of corporate chief information officers reported plans to upgrade to Windows 7.

Among those planning upgrades, 75% said they also planned to refresh their hardware investments. The survey included 120 corporate technology buyers that was "dominated by larger companies," in which the respondents were key decision makers, Deutsche Bank said.

"This could potentially imply that penetration rates could exceed the levels achieved with Vista within 12-18 months and start to match the levels that XP and Windows 2000 took two years to reach," the report read.