I know there are many small businesses that are running Windows XP still. As of April of this year Windows XP officially dies. Many programs are simply going to not work anymore as announced by their creators. Sure you can hang onto the old versions but as more and more vendors refuse to update their software for Windows XP this also means your security is at greater risk than ever before. Anti-malware vendors are also going to be phasing out support for Windows XP which means you won’t have any kind of protection at all. Contrary to popular belief small businesses are actually a large target because they tend to run behind on their security.
I know of several businesses that don’t want to move off of XP because they don’t want to get into the disaster that is Windows 8. I agree. ETC Maryland can still build machines with Windows 7. Windows 7 is supported until 2020. I Forsee that Windows 7 will not loose significant market share to Windows 8 for the next 3-5 years.
I will be honest and straightforward. Many businesses are going to have to replace everything for Windows 8. Some things may be able to be carried over by migrating to Windows 7(depending on the age of your gear of course). Contact ETC Maryland to have your security and technology audited. Do it now so you have the best chance of migrating to Windows 7 and not have to deal with Windows 8.