Support for Windows XP SP3 and Office 2003 will end on April 8, 2014
Microsoft has issued a two-year warning that support for it’s still widely used operating system, Windows XP, as well as support of Office 2003, will end on April 8, 2014.
After that date, Microsoft won’t issue any more security updates or field tech support calls on the software. In other words: you have two years to move to a different operating system. The same goes for Office 2003. That sounds like a long time, but the more complicated your IT infrastructure, the more you have to evaluate and test before switching your users over to a new OS.
This plan actually follows Microsoft’s typical 10 year product life cycle, but perhaps since Windows XP is still so popular – it still shipped on new PC’s up until 2010 – this all feels like a bit of a shock.
Windows XP is so popular in fact, the announcement comes during the same month that Windows 7 finally overtook XP as the most used operating system on the planet.
Microsoft is recommending that users switch to Windows 7 and Office 2010, rather than wait for Windows 8.
If you would like to discuss your Windows XP status, or learn more about Microsoft Open Licensing upgrade options, please contact a PMI representative and let us know how we can help you.
