Extended support for Windows XP ends in 365 days
Any time in this next year is probably a good time to shift to Windows 7
By Lee Bell
Mon Apr 08 2013, 00:01
THE END OF EXTENDED SUPPORT for Microsoft's Windows XP operating system (OS) is now exactly one year away.
Microsoft acknowledged the countdown to the end of support for Windows XP and Microsoft Office 2003 almost a year ago, advising back then that it was is a good time for organisations that still have PCs running the software to migrate to a newer version, such as Windows 7.
Today marks the 365-day countdown, so the advice that Microsoft customers must abandon the Windows XP ship is now more relevant than ever.
Software specialist 1E has said that companies which still haven't upgraded will find it difficult to migrate in this relatively short amount of time.
According to the firm, less than a quarter of UK companies have completed the migration of their PC estate to Windows 7, with 40 percent still "in the process of upgrading".
"Organisations that are not yet off the starting blocks or only a little way down the track are highly unlikely to complete before the Microsoft deadline," 1E's CEO Sumir Karayi said.
Microsoft said last year that though it acknowledged there will be some organisations still not ready to migrate to a newer version of Windows, it would be "unnecessary for [it] to extend the support life cycle" because history has proven that organisations don't generally use it past this extended support date. We're sure there are many companies out there that would disagree.
We've contacted Microsoft to see whether its opinion is still the same, and whether it will be offering free upgrades to more recent versions of the software for those left behind.
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