By now, most of you are aware that Microsoft will end support for its Windows XP Operating System on April 8th, 2014. Windows XP, released in 2001, was by far, the single most popular Operating System that Microsoft ever released and CNN.com reported that 29% of computers across the globe are still running Windows XP. This means that nearly a third of the world’s PCs will be potentially susceptible to security and compliance risks, not to mention out of support in just a few months.
According to a recent survey of 1,070 IT and executive professionals it was found that 77% of all businesses still run Windows XP but that 64% will include some form of virtualization when they do upgrade. In many cases, the hardware running Windows XP is still functional, but perhaps not robust enough to run Windows 7 or Windows 8. Short time frames, understaffed IT departments and constrained capital budgets all conspire to make a full desktop hardware upgrade a challenge for most IT departments.
Enter Virtual Desktop. Customers are now presented with a flexible option to repurpose this hardware as a “thin client” designed to run a Virtual Windows 7 Desktop. Customers can use these computers until they fail, and then replace them with lower cost terminal devices. Desktop support shifts from heavy deskside support of the local devices to a simplified, centralized support of the Virtual Desktop environment which is running a current and supported Microsoft Operating System. And best of all, this process is accomplished in a fraction of the time that a traditional desktop refresh takes.
We are here and ready to assist you with considering Desktop Virtualization - contact us to set up a webinar or conference call with our Cloud experts today.