On 14th January 2020, Microsoft will be terminating support for computers which are running the Windows 7 Operating System (‘end of life’), now that may seem like a long time off, but it’s only 6 months away!
About Windows 7
Windows 7 was launched in 2009 making it over 10 years old by the time Microsoft ends support and has been a much loved OS for consumers and businesses alike. Although its age, according to Netmarketshare as of June 2019, 38.06% of users still run Windows 7.
See table below for figures on other Windows’ OSs:
| OS | Share |
| Windows 7 | 38.06% |
| Windows 8 | 0.87% |
| Windows 8.1 | 4.54% |
| Windows 10 | 40.61% |
What is ‘end of life’ & why does it matter?
Many products have a life cycle, this is to allow manufacturers to remove support for older versions of their software, as they launch new versions. When January 14th arrives, you will still be able to use the outdated operating system, but Microsoft will stop providing security updates or support for it. The absence of security updates means your device(s) are more vulnerable to cyber threats. With the above figures showing just how many people are still using Windows 7, hackers will see a great opportunity here come January next year. What’s more, Microsoft will not take responsibility for any security breaches that could happen to Windows 7, after the end of life date. With this in mind you are in danger of breaching GDPR, as you are putting your data at risk.
Since 2015 Windows 7 hasn’t received any new enhancements making it already very much outdated.
Moving to Windows 10
We advise those on Windows 7 to upgrade to Windows 10 which has proved to be a far more substantial Operating System than its predecessor Windows 8 and 8.1 which is clear from the percentage of people using Windows 10 compared to 8 and 8.1.
Aside from the security improvements that Windows 10 brings, there are also several other benefits including greater performance and improved user experience.
Next Steps
So if your business is still running Windows 7 please get in touch! We have many years’ experience in implementing Windows migrations and would be happy to support you in upgrading your business.
