With just a little over 6 months to go before Microsoft pull the plug on support and security updates for Windows XP, now is the time that we should all be thinking of sorting out any older machines we still have in our businesses and schools. Some will no doubt already have done this and many more will be in the middle of projects to achieve this but reports suggest there are still plenty of people, especially in the small business category, that either haven't heard of this or have been putting it off until nearer the time. Unfortunately that "time" is now upon us and delaying anymore could result in you getting caught out. So for those that haven't a clue what I'm on about, here is whats going to happen, when its going to happen and what it means to you and your business or school.

On April 8th 2014 Windows XP will become the latest operating system to reach end of support by Microsoft. Now before you run off panicking this does not mean that suddenly your PC's won't work come the morning of April 9th, well not unless its a nasty coincidence. It will still operate in exactly the same way as it does now and if you so choose, you can carry on using these PC's to run your business. So why the panic? Well on the 2nd Tuesday of every month we have Patch Tuesday when Microsoft release a series of security patches that help keep your operating system safe from vulnerabilities. These may be updates to the OS itself, to components of Windows or to block attacks from malicious sources.

As of April 8th, Patch Tuesday will contain NO MORE UPDATES for Windows XP and this will leave your PC's and your business at high risk. Especially if the rumours are true that some unscrupulous types are saving up code to unleash on the these vulnerable machines on the morning of April 9th. Microsoft will offer no sympathy and no support even if you are prepared to pay. April 8th is the end of support and thats that. You may still be able to get some IT companies to offer support but due to the soon to be dwindling pool of resources this could only ever be on a 'Best Endeavours' basis.

Now as I mentioned earlier you can still continue to operate these PC's but it really is ill advised to do so. The real answer is to Act Now! and contact an IT Solution provider such as ourselves to have an audit done, so that you can start to plan an upgrade path while there is still time to do so. There are reasons for planning ahead as its not just as simple as buying the latest Windows Operating System and sticking a disk in on April 9th. There will be resources, both hardware and software, in your IT infrastructure that need to be considered for compatibility and discussions with other vendors need to be taken to make sure the upgrade path goes smoothly and with as little impact on your business as possible.

Here at Tektoo we have considerable experience in dealing with such projects and would be only to happy to help provide a solution that enables your business to not only avoid the potential problems mentioned here, but to help your business move on and grow. If you would like to discuss this topic in more detail or you have any questions relating to this then please don't hesitate to send me a message or call our office on 01282 572000.