Windows XP Support Ending In April
Early last year I wrote an article about how Microsoft is ceasing to support Windows XP and Office 2003 from 8 April 2014 - and how time has gone since then ... In just over 1 month, support for Windows XP and Office 2003 will cease. If your business is still using Windows XP and Office 2003, now is the time to upgrade or look to alternatives.
Windows XP has run for an incredible 12 years. As of April, Microsoft will stop providing security patches/updates for Windows XP - a big concern to businesses still using this software.
Statistics indicate that nearly 30% of Internet-connected PCs are still running Windows XP and while these computers will continue to exist beyond April, they will become less secure and the increasing target of hackers who can exploit known vulnerabilities. So if you can, look to upgrade your Windows XP computers as soon as possible.
If you're ready to upgrade to a new version of Windows but Windows 8 puts you off, you can still upgrade to Windows 7. It'll be supported until 2020 and new copies can be purchased at a very low price.
For most businesses, however, if your computer hardware was bought when you bought Windows XP, now may also be a good time to review your hardware - and purchasing a new computer with a newer version of Windows pre-installed may be a better alternative.
For a long time, Windows XP was a truly valuable alternative to business; a good stable work-horse that provided long-term stability. Windows Vista was a disaster and put many off upgrading from the stable XP base. But to to re-iterate, Windows XP was designed and developed (at its core) 12 years ago. And a lot has changed in the computer world since then. As such, now may be the catalyst you need to upgrade your operating system to Windows 8 (or at least WIndows 7) and upgrade your computer experience.
If you are considering upgrading your office software, contact us to discuss the alternatives and find out which software suits you and your business.
Have you recently upgraded your company's operating systems? If so, what did you choose and why?
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