30/10/19

Countdown for Windows 7

Just three months until Windows 7 ‘end of life’

There are now just three months to go before your Windows 7 system reaches its ‘end of life’ and becomes obsolete. This means time is getting tight to upgrade before we hit the January 2020 deadline when Microsoft ends its extended support.

Extended cover?

You may have read recently about Microsoft extending cover in certain circumstances and wondered if this may mean you don’t need to go through the expense of upgrading your systems. But this simply WON’T APPLY in the vast majority of cases and comes at a HIGH PRICE where it is available.

We have been working hard to get the message across that businesses will not be safe from attack if they continue using outdated systems after the deadline and action must be taken NOW to upgrade in order to maintain the level of security you need to continue working without the threat of breaches and losing important data.

Deadline – January 14th, 2020

To avoid any confusion, January 14 is the date Microsoft will end its Extended Support for Windows 7, Windows Server 2008/R2 and Exchange Server. If you are operating on these systems after this you will no longer have the benefit of updates and security patches meaning these servers and Windows 7 workstations will be under greater threat of attack.

Unfortunately, the Microsoft extension referred to recently in press reports is really only aimed at organisations with a large number of computers, big businesses and education customers – and even then it would be cost-prohibitive, starting at $50 per PC for the first year and rising to $100 per computer in the second year and $200 in the third.

Delaying an upgrade

Even those who will be among the few offered the opportunity of this extended cover will only be putting off the inevitable, kicking the can a short distance down the road before they are forced into a situation where they have to upgrade their systems anyway!

We know it’s tough making the move with all the related expenditure – but is there really any choice? To operate a business at peak efficiency and remain successful in an increasingly competitive world, you need a system which does what you ask of it and keeps you and your business safe and secure.

Take action now

Our advice is to take stock of your situation now, find out what systems you are on, laptops, workstations and servers, and then seek advice to see if you can upgrade newer computers to Windows 10 where necessary.

If this isn’t possible then you will need to seek out an expert who can point you in the right direction for what needs doing next.

The beauty about upgrading to Windows 10 is having a system in place which has the benefits of continuous support and updates from Microsoft, meaning automatic upgrades in future without the need to bring in a new operating system through upgrade or replacement.

For more information about replacing your system and how we can help, telephone us on 01743 290588 or 01952 684030 or email katy@pcnetsolutions.co.uk