Microsoft Starts Two Year Countdown to End of Support for Windows XP

It may seem silly to start the countdown to the end of support for Windows XP (and Office 2003) a full two years in advance, but given that there are still home consumers and businesses still clinging to the decade old OS, perhaps the early warning is entirely appropriate. Particularly for IT departments, starting the upgrade cycle now ensures a better shot at the migration going smoothly.

"If you still have some PCs running Windows XP and Office 2003 in your organization, now would be a good time to start migrating them to Windows 7 and Office 2010," Microsoft stated in a blog post.

The other option is to wait until Windows 8 and the next version of Office, though Microsoft recommends against taking this approach.


"Not only is it important for companies to complete deployment before support runs out, but they should also be aware that by upgrading to Windows 7 and Office 2010 today they can gain substantial results today while laying the foundation for future versions of these products," Microsoft added.

It's been a remarkable run for Windows XP, which to this day is the most popular desktop operating system on the market. That won't always be the case, and on April 8, 2014, Microsoft will stop supporting the legacy OS entirely. It's also worth mentioning that mainstream support for Vista ends today, though extended support through 2017 means Microsoft will still roll out security updates for several more years.

Are you still using XP?