Windows 7 End of Life - It's Not Just The Software

So you’ve still got PCs running Windows 7 in your office? Time is running out for support on this operating system.  You need to plan your migration to a more up-to-date, secure platform, but what are the next steps?

First of all, before you look at the operating system, you should review your PC estate and check to see if there are machines that are running Windows 7 on out of date hardware. It may not just be the operating system that is out of date – technology has moved on since Windows 7 was launched nearly 10 years ago.

Take a look at your PCs

It may well be time for you to replace those clunky old machines with more efficient, faster, ergonomic desktops or laptops which your staff will find easier to use. One of our accountancy clients has used the need to upgrade from Windows 7 as an opportunity to replace their ageing desktop PCs with lightweight laptops. This will enable their staff to become more mobile – facilitating working at client sites or from home, as well as freeing up desk space and decluttering the office.

Cash flow benefits

Before you dismiss the prospect of replacing your desktop systems as too expensive, this could be an opportunity to improve your cash flow as there are alternatives to purchasing new equipment as a one-off payment.  You could consider a rolling replacement scheme which is invoiced on a monthly basis and treated as an operating expense rather than capital expenditure. This approach to asset acquisition will help you to spread the cost of investment in new technology and free up capital for other expenditure that your business may require.

In addition to the cash flow advantages, adopting an on-going replacement programme will allow you to continually upgrade your equipment which will make your business more up to date, improve business agility and will be appreciated by your employees – contributing to higher staff engagement and motivation.

An IT strategy for the future

Continual refreshment of IT assets is a sensible, modern IT strategy – with annual subscriptions for software becoming the norm, similar arrangements for hardware replacement are starting to replicate this model. Your on-going hardware refreshment programme will become integrated with your regular software upgrades.

Adopting a continual upgrade and enhancement programme as part of your IT strategy for both hardware and software will mean that in future you won’t get caught out with end of life software that could seriously damage your business by leaving you unprotected once support is removed from an out of date system. It will also encourage your business to keep abreast of newer technology sooner, potentially allowing you to realise benefits earlier than your competitors do.

To get more advice on your strategic IT direction, including Windows 7 exit strategy, talk to the experts.

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