The End of Windows XP Availability is Looming

Like all of Windows XP’s predecessors, the time has come for this operating system’s reign to end. According to Microsoft, as of October 22, 2010, OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers), such as our partner Hewlett Packard, will no longer manufacture and sell PCs with Windows XP pre-installed and will instead come with XP’s most-recent successor, Windows 7. However, OEM versions of Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Ultimate will continue to include downgrade rights to Windows XP Professional, or similar Windows Vista versions, throughout the sales lifecycle of Windows 7, which, according to the Windows lifecycle policy, is up to two years after the launch date of a new version.

Downgrade rights offer a practical solution to businesses that need to purchase a new system but also require it to run on the same platform (Windows XP) as its existing systems. Businesses are able to purchase a new PC with Windows 7, downgrade to Windows XP at no additional product cost, and move to Windows 7 at the appropriate time as the system is licensed and ready for conversion. However, performing a downgrade to Windows XP does require a significant labor investment that, when weighed against an eventual Windows 7 deployment, may not prove to be the most cost efficient approach.

There are some additional considerations to keep in mind when choosing to downgrade to Windows XP. First, support for Windows XP Service Pack 3 will end in April 2014, meaning Microsoft will no longer develop or release security patches and non-security hotfixes for this operating system. Second, according to technology analyst firms such as Gartner, many third party or line of business applications that currently run on Windows XP will no longer be supported on XP by their makers after 2011.

Overall, businesses should be aware of the changes occurring with Windows XP’s availability and evaluate their existing IT infrastructure accordingly. With XP being phased out of use, migration to Windows 7 is inevitable, and waiting until a forced Windows 7 deployment due to equipment failure is an inefficient and expensive strategy. Therefore, making a determination on an appropriate deployment strategy is essential in order to mitigate costly support and compatibility issues with Windows 7.

If you need assistance in evaluating your network and determining the necessary steps in deploying Windows 7 as well as creating a migration plan that best fits your business needs, please contact 3D at (360) 671-4906, email info@3dcorp.us, or visit us at http://www.3dcorp.us/.

References: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9179109/Microsoft_extends_Windows_XP_downgrade_rights_until_2020, Blogging Windows ‘Public Beta Now Available for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1’ ; http://www.microsoft.com/