Goodbye Windows XP..thank you for the memories!

As you may or may have not heard Windows XP reaches it’s end of extended support on April 8th 2014 or the 9th for those of us in Australia. It’s hard to believe this day has finally arrived and that Windows XP is a 12 year old operating system! A lot has changed since then and from a security perspective the world is a different place. In fact we made the announcement that Windows XP would reach end of support in September of 2007!

I know a lot of you have already made the move to either Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 and that’s great because it’s critical that you at least get to a modern operating system like Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 to ensure you have the latest security features. Plus you get so many benefits by moving to a modern OS like higher performance and responsiveness, a modern UI, and features like Applocker, Direct Access, PowerShell and a new deployment model.

So what happens on April 9th?

Well if you are still running Windows XP after the EOS date comes and goes? It’s a good question and one I have been asked frequently over the last few years. Of course Windows XP will not stop working on this date but it will effectively be rotting from the inside out. You won’t be getting security updates, service packs, patches and will most likely have more support issues by continuing to run an OS that is not supported. Below is a slide that gives some top reasons for moving.

And below is a great infographic that explains all this in greater detail. Click on the picture to download a PDF version of this. The best quote I think that comes out of the PDF of this file is: “The average IT Pro is taking 6 hours to deploy a single workstation. Why? They are still using the tools they used to deploy XP. Using modern tools from Microsoft, a machine can be moved from Windows XP in 30 minutes or less!”

Resources

Now if you are still on Windows XP we want to help you make the move. I’ve listed below some great resources that can help you with this move. I’ve tried to list all the tools and resources I know about to help with the migration.

• Windows XP Migration Resources
• Windows XP End of Support Page
• Migrating from Windows XP to Windows 8.1 – Microsoft Virtual Academy Course
• Windows 8.1 Deployment Jumpstart
• Windows 8.1 End-User Readiness Materials
• Windows XP to Windows 8 Migration Guide
• Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2013
• Windows ADK for Windows 8.1 – required for MDT 2013

That is not the complete list and the tools I’ve mentioned are free. With MDT 2013 I encourage you to have a look and use this free tool to deploy Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1. And if you are using System Center R2 Configuration Manager make sure you are integrating these two products together.

And finally make sure you are keeping up to date with the Springboard Series Blog as they are constantly updating information around deploying operating systems for businesses.

Jeffa

Technorati Tags: Windows XP,XPEOS