On the 14th of January 2020 Microsoft will implement four major end of support, otherwise known as “end of life” or EOL’s. The following PC and Server operating systems will be effected.
- Windows 7, all versions
- Windows Server 2008R2
- Windows Small Business Server 2011
- Exchange 2010 SP3 (TheLifecycle for Exchange Server 2010 has been extended. Go here to learn more.)
What Does End of Life Mean?
End of life is the date after which an application is no longer supported by the vendor, in this case Microsoft. Actions like updates, patching, Office 365 integration and most importantly security updates will no longer be pushed out by Microsoft. After EOL you are able to continue using the operating system(s) but you would be doing so at great risk to your corporate infrastructure. New computer viruses and other malware are being developed all the time. Without the security updates to fight them off, your data and your systems could be easily compromised by hackers looking for ransom in the form of bitcoins.
What to do?
January 2020 may seem like a long way off but it can come around quickly if there is no strategy in place to upgrade your PC fleet and Servers to current and supported operating systems. We can assist your business with creating a timeline to upgrade. For example, upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 10 is something that can be done over a set number of weeks and even out of hours to minimise the impact to the business. The Server operating systems are much more complex, but there are plenty of upgrade paths available all of which if planned accordingly can be implemented with minimum down time to the business. It’s also a good opportunity to investigate other options for the major applications or server roles – for example Cloud, Remote Desktop, Third Party Cloud and even a complete Server refresh.
There is more to come.
Microsoft love to bring out new products, this also means their old ones will at some stage, all go end of life.
On the 13th of October 2020 the following products will also become end of life –
- Office 2010, all versions
- Office 2016, all versions for Mac only
Effected organisations will need to look to upgrading to newer versions of Office or move to Office 365. Timing will be important especially if you have Windows 7, you may need to upgrade to Windows 10 first – Please See below
Even the most current version of Office will be changing
End of Mainstream support passed on 13th of April 2018 and have now entered extended support until the 11th of April 2023 meaning the below products will still be supported by Microsoft meaning they will be getting patched, including all security patches which is good news as they originally planned to end their cloud services interaction with these products early.
- Office 2013, all versions
- Office 2016, all versions
Office 2019 is now Microsoft’s latest perpetual license you can now purchase but critically is only compatible with Windows 10 and has a price increase over 2016 of approximately 15%. Good old Microsoft. Making sure we upgrade to their latest and greatest applications and operating systems.
Office 365
Worth noting users of the full version of Office 365 will be unaffected, as Office 365 will always be supported, upgraded, patched (including security), fully integrated with all cloud services and supported operating systems offered by Microsoft. Another push from Microsoft to move users to a subscription based product for the recurring revenue they generate which they have made no secret of.
We can help
Strategy and timing are the key here. You don’t want to be caught behind the eight ball, trying to upgrade operating systems, Office and potentially Exchange (email) all at the same time and all just weeks before January 2020. A planned out, measured approach will minimise any loss of business productivity.
In any event we are here to assist in any way we can. If you would like some more information or advice please get in touch with one of our experienced team on 1300 787 429 or email – sales@new.austintechnology.com.au
Thank you for reading
Check out the list of all Microsoft products approaching EOL
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