Most small and medium-sized businesses are not aware that they face huge security risks if they continue to run Windows 7.
According to Microsoft, over 400 million PC’s are still running the Windows 7 operation system and they are typically small and medium size businesses. With Microsoft having withdrawn support for Windows 7 from the 14 January this year.
Microsoft has published an ad encouraging windows 7 users to upgrade to shift to a surface technology running the Windows 10 operating system and the Microsoft Office 365.
Why surface technology? According to Microsoft “Surface and Microsoft 365 make sharing, communication, and daily tasks easy with familiar Office software and apps. Employees on the move stay productive with secure, always-connected LTE1 and extended battery life.”
Upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 10 is possible and Windows 10 comes with basic drivers so you should be able to boot into Windows but not everything may work. For instance, exclusive hardware, older printers, or other features like SD Card Readers or Fingerprint scanners my no longer be supported by the manufacturers who won’t be releasing new drivers for older technology. Microsoft does not recommend that you install Windows 10 on an older device, as some Windows 7 devices are not compatible with Windows 10 or could experience reduced feature availability.
“This is a challenge for the office imaging sector” said David Connett, a partner at Connett & Unland GbR. “One German client lost three customers in recent weeks as they withdrew Windows 7 pc’s and as a consequence many of the older printers stopped working because the older printer drivers were incompatible with the latest Windows 10 operating system. Fortunately, the client quickly put in place a work around for his customer, but that business could have been lost. The channel needs to be aware of the problem and educate customers and prospects about the outdated software’s vulnerabilities and have solutions ready. Or another competitor to beat you on this enormous open opportunity.”
