Windows 7 end of support is coming January 14th, 2020
Citing Microsoft’s website: “Microsoft made a commitment to provide 10 years of product support for Windows 7 when it was released on October 22, 2009. When this 10-year period ends, Microsoft will discontinue Windows 7 support so that we can focus our investment on supporting newer technologies and great new experiences. The specific end of support day for Windows 7 will be January 14, 2020. After that, technical assistance and software updates from Windows Update that help protect your PC will no longer be available for the product. Microsoft strongly recommends that you move to Windows 10 sometime before January 2020 to avoid a situation where you need service or support that is no longer available.”
According to an article on ZDNet, last week(https://www.zdnet.com/article/windows-7-end-of-life-months-from-patch-cut-off-millions-still-havent-upgraded/) – “Nearly half of all PCs used in small businesses are running Windows 7 despite Microsoft’s January 2020 deadline.” Adding that “Those systems will be easy targets for hackers after January 14, 2020, when Microsoft stops providing free security updates for Windows 7.” The same source mentions that Worldwide, Windows 7 desktops account for almost half of desktop OS market.
In Canada, data from StatCounter Global Stats – “Desktop Operating System Market Share Canada” – Microsoft OS accounts for 72.74% total desktop Operating System market. Statistics are counting Aug 2018 – Aug 2019. From these – “Desktop Windows Version Market Share Canada” – shows that 23.74% desktops use Windows 7 and almost 2% account for Windows XP and Windows Vista – see the graph below(Photo: Statcounter Global Stats)
The trend is decreasing. However, a percentage of over 25% of Windows Desktop OS should be updated in the next four months. This number is still big and the update for all will be difficult.
Migration is not an easy process. Companies may be running applications that are not always compatible when transitioning from Windows 7 to Windows 10. It needs testing before deploying and then deployment in one or multiple steps. IT departments may be overburden in this period for this project. They may need to use the help of an external IT Professional Services company that could help them during the migration project. There are many advantages when using an external company to help you during migration. Experience, know-how and a team of experts are some of the main benefits of using an external IT company. Roca Networks offers professional IT services and can help SMBs with the migration process. For more information send us an email contact us at info@rocanetworks.com or leave your data in our contact form – https://www.rocanetworks.com/contact-us.