- Microsoft mainstream support ends on April 8, 2014
- Companies are challenged to choose between Windows 7 and Windows 8
- Genesis10 helps them determine which is best for them now and in the future
As we discussed in our last post, on April 8, 2014 Microsoft will withdraw mainstream support for Windows XP. As of that date there will be no more security or other updates coming from Microsoft which means users will face what Tim Rains, Director of Product Management in Microsoft’s Trustworthy Computing group calls “zero day forever,” referring to the extreme user vulnerability on the first day a new threat or data exploit is introduced. Microsoft makes every effort to release security updates responding to those threats as close to “zero day” as possible. No more updates means users face the same “zero day” level of exposure forever. That’s why it’s so crucial to migrate before the updates stop coming.
In an August 15 post on the Microsoft Security Blog, The Risk of Running Windows XP After Support Ends April 2014, Rains explains that Microsoft has long had a practice of releasing security updates for all products and platforms simultaneously so attackers can’t prey on those who don’t have the update yet.
“But after April 8, 2014,” warns Rains, “organizations that continue to run Windows XP won’t have this advantage over attackers any longer. The very first month that Microsoft releases security updates for supported versions of Windows, attackers will reverse engineer those updates, find the vulnerabilities and test Windows XP to see if it shares those vulnerabilities. If it does, attackers will attempt to develop exploit code that can take advantage of those vulnerabilities on Windows XP. Since a security update will never become available for Windows XP to address these vulnerabilities, Windows XP will essentially have a “zero day” vulnerability forever. How often could this scenario occur? Between July 2012 and July 2013 Windows XP was an affected product in 45 Microsoft security bulletins, of which 30 also affected Windows 7 and Windows 8.”
This leaves the 37% of Windows users who are still using Windows XP with an important decision to make before April 8, 2014: Migrate to Windows 7 or Windows 8?
Does everything run on Windows 8?
In a March 2013 blog post on the Dell/Microsoft Migration Expert Zone, Microsoft Sr. IT Pro Evangelist Bob Hunt assures, “If it runs on Windows 7, it runs on Windows 8!”
“Anything that runs on Windows 7 runs on Windows 8,” exclaims Hunt. “There’s 100 percent compatability between the two. That’s been the plan from day one. If it’s certified for Windows 7 it’s going to run on Windows 8.” – See more at: http://www.migrationexpertzone.com/blog/windows-client-migration/if-it-runs-on-windows-7-it-runs-on-windows-8.”
Hunt goes on to explain, “We’re doing exactly what you’d expect Microsoft to do. We have to properly show respect to our legacy, but we also have to pull people forward into an area where there is significant opportunity for additional types of input beyond a keyboard and mouse.”
Won’t we have to learn a whole new user interface?
Microsoft achieved something no other software provider has as they introduced Windows 8. For the first time users only have to learn one user interface across all of Microsoft’s device types, from their Zune media player to Windows Phone 8, the new Microsoft Surface tablets, Windows 8 and soon all of the Windows Server products. That user interface uses simple “tiles” to launch and display status information for many applications rather than the familiar icons and drop-down menus. Microsoft originally referred to this as the “metro” interface, but it is now called the “modern UI.” Learn it once and use it across all Microsoft-driven devices.
Since the introduction of Windows 8 many users have balked at the radical departure from what they have become accustomed to. In point of fact Windows 8 includes a “desktop mode” that closely resembles Windows 7 without the familiar “Start” button. When using the desktop mode the user can move the mouse pointer into the lower left corner of the screen and find a small replica of the “Start screen” with the modern UI tiles. Clicking it, or pressing a flagged button on their keyboard will bring them back to the Start screen. After a short period of use it begins to feel like the Start screen is really an exaggerated version of the Windows 7 start menu. Windows 8.1 will give users the choice to launch in desktop mode making Windows 8 feel even more like Windows 7.
How do you begin to make the decision between Windows 7 and Windows 8?
Microsoft’s Hunt recommends, “The right place to start would be the Microsoft TechNet site around understanding the first part of the core of what all this comes down to, which is the operating system. A migration itself, whether it’s Windows 8, Windows 7 or Windows Server, needing to understand the technical value of each one of these operating systems, it’s easy to point you at the websites and the fluffy soft white papers, but from a true IT professional’s perspective that stuff is just window dressing.”
From an internal corporate perspective Hunt continues, saying, “When you look at a migration, like any project, you need to break it down into chewable chunks. What’s going to get the most return on investment quickest? I would probably start there. Surface that through your management and say, ‘look, if we implement this it will save us this.’ That’s the hard discussion. From there you can pull in all the other pieces. You need to do short term ROI with a set of features to replace or improve what you have currently.”
Genesis10 Managed & Consultative Services provides support for these actions, helping you inventory the requirements to be satisfied and opportunities available for significant improvement and added value when migrating to a new desktop operating system. Armed with that information, Genesis10 can help you plan your migration such that it facilitates optimum new value.
The Danger is Real
Looking past all the “Deathwatch” talk from April 2012 and the ominous “Zero Day Forever” intonations in recent days is the reality that all Windows XP users will become totally vulnerable to new attacks starting on April 8, 2014. It is sound business judgment to move on to newer desktop technology before that date. Windows 7 has been proven in the marketplace for several years now and will be a dependable performer that offers value beyond that available in previous Windows versions. Windows 8 is just now introducing its “dot-one” version bringing it past the traditional caution “never install dot-oh of anything” but it is still very new.
Conservatism must be met with sound budgetary planning. Do you want to migrate twice in the next few years? Or only once? Are you concerned that Windows 8 may not be the performer that Windows 7 has already proven itself to be? Let Genesis10 Managed & Consultative Services help you develop your own answers and your own level of confidence in that.
Two Windows Migration Strategies from Genesis10 Managed Services
Clients have been engaging Genesis10 Managed Services to help them complete their migrations in either of two ways:
- Backfilling their service desks with Genesis10 specialists to free up their own people to plan and perform the transition from Windows XP to Windows 7 or Windows 8. Most have found that their teams need to focus on the extensive planning, testing, and other processes. Genesis10 seamlessly steps in to provide day-to-day support to the user base.
Or
- Have Genesis10 Managed Services perform the planning, testing, and deployment. This strategy brings the added advantage of leveraging a team of specialists who have performed many such migrations. The company’s IT team only does one transition, and it’s their first on the new platform. Genesis10 specialists have generally performed dozens if not hundreds of such transitions and bring extensive experience and exposure to the many challenges they know they will face in such a project.
If you haven’t already, it’s past time to begin talking with us about how to get your users off Windows XP and onto technology that will continue to enjoy strong support. To get started, please contact us at itmanagedservices@genesis10.com.