Microsoft: Quit Windows XP in Two Years

Microsoft has urged its Windows XP users to upgrade as soon as possible, reminding them that support for the operating system will officially end in less than two years.

Windows XP and Office 2003 are currently in Microsoft’s extended support phase, which is due to stop on 8 April, 2014.

Transitionary period

“Windows XP and Office 2003 were great software releases for their time, but the technology environment has shifted,” Stella Chernyak, a Microsoft spokeswoman, wrote on the Windows blog.

“If you haven’t yet already, we do hope that you take this end of support countdown as an opportunity to migrate your PCs to Windows 7 and Office 2010 so that your business and employees are more productive and secure.”

Windows XP, now more than ten years old, still commands a sizable share of the market (47 percent in March 2012 according to NetMarketShare) due in part to users’ unwillingness to part with a familiar OS. Microsoft’s blunder with Vista, which alongside Office 2007 will stop receiving mainstream support from Tuesday, may have also dissuaded people from a transition to Windows 7.

Vista’s support lifecycle will completely end in 2017, though Microsoft will have a much easier time convincing people to switch OS when that time comes.

Chernyak’s post emphasises a rapid transition to Windows 7, suggesting that holding back until Windows 8 is released is not necessarily the best idea for businesses:

“We don’t recommend waiting. Not only is it important for companies to complete deployment before support runs out, but they should also be aware that by upgrading to Windows 7 and Office 2010 today they can gain substantial results today while laying the foundation for future versions of these products.”

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