Over one decade from its release and three new versions of Windows past, Windows XP remains one of the most popular operating systems in the world – and for good reason. XP was a stable operating system with loads of software support and years worth of updates. It was exactly what both businesses and consumers needed to accomplish their work, use the growing internet, and play PC games.
Though Microsoft announced this spring that it intends to end support for XP in April 2014, many businesses in particular still have not upgraded their software. Microsoft and its manufacturing partners are beginning to see this as a problem, and HP announced today that it has teamed with Microsoft to transition businesses to more recent versions of Windows.
“Many businesses have been avoiding the XP migration, fearing lack of compatibility and loss of productivity during the transition process,” said Enrique Lores, SVP of commercial PCs at HP.
Though Windows 7 overtook XP as the world’s most popular operating system last fall, HP estimates that as many as 40% of businesses are still running XP. With support for XP ending in less than a year, businesses content with the 2001 operating system or those that have simply procrastinated are now being forced to overhaul their computing – and it appears that HP has positioned itself well to be a one-stop-shop for these late adopters. HP, which has recently embraced services as the PC market has begun to slow, is now offering its services to businesses looking to transfer out of XP. In addition to hardware, the company is offering planning, staff, automated software, payment plans, consulting, support, and testing for business looking to upgrade.
“By working with a company such as HP, which has hardware and services solutions in place, businesses can almost immediately start realizing the benefits of Windows 8 and Windows 7,” said Erwin Visser, GM of Windows at Microsoft.