Windows XP SP3 and Office 2003 Support Ends April 8, 2014

Windows XP SP3 and Office 2003 Support Ends April 8, 2014

What does this mean to you?

After April 8, 2014, there will be no new security updates, hotfixes, free or paid assisted support options or online technical content updates.

Running Windows XP SP3 and Office 2003 in your environment after their end of support date will expose your company to potential risks, such as:

• Security & Compliance Risks: Unsupported and unpatched environments are vulnerable to security risks. This may result in an officially recognized control failure by an internal or external audit body, leading to suspension of certifications, and/or public notification of the organization’s inability to maintain its systems and customer information.
• Lack of Independent Software Vendor (ISV) & Hardware Manufacturers support: A recent industry report from Gartner Research suggests many independent software vendors are unlikely to support new versions of applications on Windows XP.  By 2012, most PC hardware manufacturers will stop supporting Windows XP on the majority of their new PC models.

Why is Microsoft ending support for Windows XP and Office 2003?

In 2002 Microsoft introduced its Support Lifecycle policy based on customer feedback to have more transparency and predictability of support for Microsoft products. As per this policy, Microsoft Business and Developer products, including Windows and Office products, receive a minimum of 10 years of support (5 years Mainstream Support and 5 years Extended Support), at the supported service pack level.

Thus, Windows XP SP3 and Office 2003 will go out of support on April 8, 2014. If your organization has not started the migration to a modern desktop, you are late.  Based on historical customer deployment data, the average deployment can take 9 to 18 months from business case through full deployment. To ensure you remain on supported versions of Windows and Office, you should begin your planning and application testing immediately to ensure you deploy before end of support.

Can I still get Windows 7?

You can, but Windows 7 was released in 2009 and will not be sold after July of this year.  If you are going to upgrade, do not upgrade to an operating system that is already 4 years old.

Can I run my earlier Windows XP programs on Windows 8?