SPECIAL REPORT Microsoft Windows 7
ANALYST OPINION
Analysing data collected from vendors, resellers and distributors,
CONTEXT believes strong commercial demand for new hardware over
the past year will gradually weaken after the January 2020 endofsupport
deadline for Windows 7. Continued Intel CPU supply problems
will compound these growth challenges for channel players next year.
Unfortunately, the consumer market is unlikely to see enough growth
to compensate for this slump on the business side, with demand for
mainstream desktop and notebook systems set to remain weak.
for businesses and consumers
alike. GCHQ has warned the
public not to email or do online
banking using Windows 7 PCs.
Businesses simply can’t aord
to use legacy operating systems.
Keeping devices and software
up to data is one of the 5 pillars
of the NCSC’s Cyber Essentials
scheme and is a requirement for
the certication.
“Microsoft is oering
Extended Security Updates
(ESU) to businesses still using
Windows 7 through to 2023.
is ESU is charged per device
and the price will increase each
year. is helps but software
providers will stop supporting
their application on Windows
7, so our recommendation is
to update to Windows 10 as
“GCHQ has warned the public not to email or do online banking using
Windows 7 PCs.” Peter Groucutt, Managing Director at Databarracks
quickly as possible.”
Preparing the business
So how should businesses be
preparing themselves to make a
transition away from Windows
7?
Alastair Pooley, CIO at Snow
Software said “For many IT
teams, reviewing the estate to
shed light on which Operating
Systems are running can be a
simple exercise of consulting
their Technology Intelligence
Platform or their Software Asset
Management (SAM) system. If
you don’t have this data you will
not have up to date information
about how your IT team are
managing the rm’s IT assets,
so it’s worth asking some more
questions.
“Good cybersecurity means
keeping track of where your
data and assets are, as this can
help you identify vulnerable
systems or legacy equipment
which should be retired. With
GDPR bringing almost every
employee device into scope,
keeping track of assets is
even more important. A live
inventory of your IT assets,
as provided by SAM systems
satises both control 1 & 2
from the CIS top 20 security
controls. It is also the rst item
in the NIST Cybersecurity
framework.”
Jarod Greene, General
Manager, TBM Council says
“e phasing out of Windows 7
provides a timely reminder for
businesses to take stock of their
full technology estate. e cost
of making the switch to a new
operating system isn’t always
straightforward, and the capital
expenditure of purchasing
new software or buying in new
hardware that is more secure,
ready for Windows 10 and
beyond, is just one element of
this. ere’s also the labour
cost to be factored in, as well as
the cost of potential downtime
while updates are being made
or issues troubleshot. On the
ipside, you might also need
to consider the option of
purchasing ongoing support
for the old system while you
ready the organisation for the
move. None of this should
come as a surprise, but many
organisations don’t factor these
things into their forecasting,
resulting in inaccuracies in
technology budgets and a
headache for the IT and nance
teams.
“For some, all this will
have been a last-minute rush,
with the potential security
risk being the driving factor.
Time pressure and lack of
structure vastly increases the
number of hours spent on
getting the business ready
for the changeover. is
comes at an inevitable cost to
the organisation, especially
where it means diverting
from labour that could have
more productively been spent
on innovation. e crux?
Businesses need to have a
holistic view of their technology
estate to enable them to
properly plan for such key
moments in the technology
calendar.”
Databarracks conducted a
Viking funeral to say goodbye
to the OS
16 | Comms Business Magazine | February 2020 www.commsbusiness.co.uk
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