The World According to Mitch

When Microsoft released Windows 7 in October, 2009 the vast majority of users (both corporate and home) were still running Windows XP.  While they had released Windows Vista three years earlier, it was never widely accepted.  The improvements over the then six-year-old operating system were revolutionary, especially for the vast majority of users who eschewed Windows Vista.

Windows 8 came and went, and although Windows 8.1 was, to many, a great alternative to Windows 7, most people did not appreciate the changes that Microsoft made with the first modern operating system, and it too was not as widely adopted as some at Microsoft would have liked.  Windows 7 reigned supreme.

In 2015 Microsoft announced that Windows 10 would be the last desktop operating system they would release, adopting a Software as a Service (SaaS) model with minor improvements coming with the monthly patch cycle, and major improvements being released in a biannual release cycle, delivered via the same patch channels as the monthly updates.  This would be great for end-users, but corporations would still have to run the same application tests on these ‘milestone’ releases as they would have to do with any operating system update.  Let’s not fool ourselves… they may all be called Windows 10, but Microsoft is now effectively releasing a new operating system every six months.  Corporations understand this, and Windows 7 is still the operating system installed on at least forty percent of Windows endpoints.

It is easy for Microsoft to tell home and small-businesses that they will end support for Windows 7 on January 14, 2020 – they made that announcement years ago, and the date has not changed – but if a large number of those Windows 7 endpoints are corporate devices, they have to find a solution to keep the corporate customers happy.  Last week they announced what their solution will be.

Microsoft will now be releasing Windows 7 Extended Security Updates (ESU) for volume license customers only as a paid subscription effective January, 2020, and has committed to offering these for three years – through January, 2023.  These updates will be available for Windows Professional and Windows Enterprise, as a paid offering, increasing in price each year.  This is reminiscent of the model used with previous operating systems (such as Windows NT 4).  This ESU will be offered (and charged) per computer.  For customers who have invested large sums for Windows 7 solutions, this is important.  Despite the fact that Microsoft claims that 99% of Windows 7 applications are now compatible with Windows 10, that does not mean that companies are going to be ready to change over so fast.  Yes, they will, by the end of regular support, have had five years to upgrade; yes, by the time regular support ends Windows 7 will have been around for over a decade; neither of these facts change the reality that looking at the field today – some sixteen months before End Of Life (EOL) for Windows 7 – where forty percent of computers running Windows are still running that (by computer standards) ancient legacy OS.  You can say what you will about Microsoft, but they are a company that does not like to turn its back on its customers.

(By the way, Windows 8.1 Support will go through January, 2023)

Okay, so the corporate clients are covered, but what about home users?  Sorry to say it folks, but they are SOL – Something Out of Luck.  With the free upgrade offer a distance memory (officially… there are still ways to get it), Windows 7 Home users, as well as those using Windows 7 Pro without a volume license agreement, will no longer be supported.

What does that mean?  Unsupported operating systems may still run whatever software you need, but there will no longer be security updates.  It means that if (really when) a new vulnerability is discovered, unsupported operating systems will be vulnerable to hackers, along with everything that entails.  Simply put, your computer will not be safe.

In 2010 I started tweeting (nearly) every weekday how many days were left until #EndOfDaysXP.  I did it for nearly 1400 days.  Today I am launching a similar initiative, #EndOfDaysWin7.  The current count is 489 days.  That is how long you have to not only plan but also to implement your Windows 10 migration strategy.  If your company needs help, either with developing or evaluating your strategy, or to design and implement it, you should contact Cistel Technology Inc. to see how we can help.  Our Cistel Advanced Microsoft Team has the expertise and experience to help, and we will be glad to explain how.  Migration is not quick and easy, but we can help to make sure it is painless.  Reach out and ask us how!

Don’t be caught unsupported and unsecure.  Let Cistel help!