Windows 8 Release Date: Launch Set for 2012? Businesses Told to Upgrade to Windows 7

Microsoft is recommending businesses still using Windows XP to upgrade to Windows 7, and not to wait for the upcoming Windows 8.

Microsoft’s Rich Reynolds posted up a blog this past Monday instructing companies to upgrade to Windows 7 ASAP since XP will no longer be supported after April 2014.

Even though that is roughly 2 and a half years away, businesses need to make transitions early in order to have enough time to plan, test and train users efficiently.

By Microsoft not continuing to support XP, the company will no longer provide security updates for the OS which will leave businesses vulnerable to malware.

This makes the operating system a perfect target since hackers will know that Microsoft no longer supports it.

Windows 8 is expected to be released by the end of 2012, so companies running XP will cut it pretty close if they wait around for the OS’s release, since it takes time to adjust to new software.

Windows XP is 10 years old, but many businesses and homes are still using it.

“While more than 90 percent of you have said you’re committed to Windows 7 and Office 2010, many of you have many of your PCs still running Windows XP and Office 2003,” said Reynolds in the blog. “Moving to Windows 7 and Office 2010 today enables you to embrace the way we work today versus the way we worked 10 years ago.”

Windows 8 has already been unveiled and Microsoft created the new software specifically for touch screen devices.

It will still run on PC’s and Laptops, but its main goal is to gain the tech giant some market share in the Apple dominated tablet market.

Most experts expect the software to be available before the end of 2012.