With a matter of weeks to go until Windows 7 reaches end of life, what does this mean for your business and what’s next?
Windows 7 is a ten year old operating system (OS) and in January 2015 Microsoft ended mainstream support, with free technical assistance and software updates, bug fixes, security patches and new functionality from Windows Update no longer available after this date.
But even with this deadline looming, according to Russian security firm Kaspersky, nearly half of all small to medium sized businesses (SMBs) are still using the outdated OS, and even large organisations are affected, with the NHS admitting in July that they still had one million PCs running on Windows 7.
So why the delay? Microsoft recommends that Windows 10 (more on this here) is best installed on a new machine, and for many, this is economically unviable. Older PCs may not have software in place that is able to run the new OS and let’s not underestimate the human tendency towards familiarity – for some, the change (yes, that horrible word) to a new system is just not very palatable!
The good news is you will still be able to run Windows 7 after the EOL deadline. The bad news? Failing to upgrade your operating system will leave you significantly more susceptible to viruses and malware attacks. In short, your business will be vulnerable, and hackers will be itching to take advantage of weak spots.
MS will be offering support until 2023, but at a cost, expected to increase dramatically year on year.
Time to upgrade to Windows 10! More on this here.