14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft will officially retire Windows XP on April 8, 2014 and even though the company is struggling to move users to a newer platform, many will actually stick to the ancient OS.
Paul Moore, senior director of mobile product management and marketing at Fujitsu America, told InformationWeek that Microsoft’s retirement date won’t convince users to switch to Windows 7 or 8, as they often make the jump to a newer platform when they buy new hardware.
“The reality for our customers is that they will move off of XP when they buy new hardware. The need for hardware is driving the move, not the XP end-of-support [deadline]. Qualifying a new OS can be a difficult process for customers if they have line-of-business apps [and] licenses for older versions of software that will require the purchase of new licenses, et cetera.”
Microsoft, on the other hand, warns that sticking to XP beyond the retirement date is extremely risk, but only a few seem to get the message, as the ancient OS is still powering more than 37 percent of computers worldwide.