As it often happens with office technology, changes are frequent. This is one that is major as it may affect many businesses. Windows XP End of Life is almost here. As of April 8, 2014, Windows will no longer offer support for Windows XP. Is your business ready?
For businesses that haven’t yet migrated their system off of Windows XP, they are already in the window of “last minute” updates as many businesses started 18 months in advance or more. That doesn’t mean it is too late, though! It is still strongly advised to migrate from Windows XP as soon as possible.
What does this mean for those still running Windows XP?
Well, since Microsoft will no longer offer support for Windows XP after April 8th, this means updates will no longer be available as well. This can affect a few different areas: security, compliance, lack of support, and hardware manufacturer support.
Without security updates available your PC can become vulnerable to viruses, spyware, and other malicious software. This can damage or steal your business data and information. Anti-virus software won’t fully protect against these type of security vulnerabilities once Windows XP is unsupported.
Because security requirements are necessary for things like HIPAA, your business may start to have compliance issues once support is no longer available.
Of course, support for Windows XP will no longer be available, and even hardware manufacturers will stop supporting Windows XP on both new and existing hardware. This can also mean drivers required to run Windows XP on new hardware may not be available.
What should you do now?
It’s important to complete Windows XP migration as soon as possible. Any time with Windows XP after the End of Life (or End of Support) will leave you open to these vulnerabilities. If you have concerns about migrating from Windows XP, Microsoft offers information and support for both Enterprise Customers and Small to Medium Businesses.
Visual Edge IT offers the office technology support your need. Give us a call today for any questions or concerns you have about Windows XP End of Life.