Windows 7 End of Support: What Does It Mean for Your Organizations?

[harlan4096]

And What Are Your Options?

As you may already know, Windows 7 has officially hit its end of support. Starting with January 14, Microsoft will no longer be providing updates, security patches or new features to what was once the most popular operating system in history, that was outpaced by Windows 10 only in early 2019.

For organizations that are still running Windows 7, this is a serious matter of concern, since generally, legacy software and systems quickly become highly attractive targets for cybercriminals. Thus, in this case, it would be reasonable to suppose that Windows 7 machines are going to be attacked by malicious actors in the near future.

According to a Spiceworks report released in June 2019, 79% of organizations still ran at least one instance of Windows 7, and many of these businesses responded they would procrastinate in their migration efforts. In fact, the data showed that 67% of businesses running Windows 7 were planning to migrate all their machines off of Windows 7 prior to the end of service date, but 25% planned to migrate after the deadline.

A brief history of Windows 7

Windows 7, the successor to Windows Vista, was released in October 2009 in conjunction with Windows Server 2008 R2, its server counterpart. It was based on Windows Vista’s underlying code and technology, with various enhancements added to its speed, user interface, and the addition of Internet Explorer 8, to name a few.

Windows 7 met the needs of both consumers and enterprises, bringing Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate to individual users, and Windows 7 Enterprise Edition to businesses. Shortly, it became the fastest-selling operating system in history, with 240 million licenses being sold in the first year alone. We witnessed its adoption peek back in 2013 when Windows 7 accounted for over 60% of all Windows operating systems.

However, since Windows 7 did have its faults, Windows 8 was released shortly after (in 2012) and was followed by Windows 10 a few years later. Aiming to increase the adoption of Windows 10, Microsoft even pushed it as a free upgrade to Windows 7 users. However, according to ZDNet, you can still get a free Windows 10 upgrade, so check out their guide if you’d be interested.

This exercise to increase the adoption of Windows 10 proved to be successful, and by early 2018, it had taken its place as the dominant desktop operating system.

The Windows 7 end of life has not been received well by everyone. Some voices behind the free software movement are demanding Windows 7 to be released as free software and given to the community “to study, modify, and share”. The request has been made in exchange for proof that Microsoft values “users and user freedom, and aren’t just using those concepts as marketing when convenient.”

Windows 7 end of support – How does this affect your organization?

What does Windows 7 end of support mean for your business? Basically, after January 2020, your machines that are running Windows 7 will no longer receive security updates. At the same time, Microsoft’s customer service will not be available to provide technical support anymore. Also, certain software and apps compatible with Windows 7 with gradually be discontinued.
...

Continue Reading