Fujitsu: End Of Support May Not Move Users Away From Windows XP

April 8, 2014 is fast becoming a very important date for Microsoft. The software titan has announced that it will stop releasing security updates and patches for Windows XP beyond this date.

With months remaining, the company has intensified its efforts to move users away from the ancient operating system to a newer platform like Windows 7 or Windows 8. But market researchers believe that a fair fraction of Windows XP user base will actually stick with the old OS after its end of support.

Fujistu is one such technology company that shares this view.

The famed hardware maker believes that Microsoft’s retirement date may just not be enough to convince users to switch to either Windows 7 or Windows 8 — as users often make the jump to a newer platform when they buy new hardware.

Talking to InformationWeek, Paul Moore, the senior director of mobile product management and marketing at Fujitsu America said:

“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.”

The company is obviously speaking from experience, but there is a fair chance that this time the situation is different. Large organizations and networks, obviously, will not risk the security of their systems — the official retirement of Windows XP may well open a Pandora’s Box in this sense.

Old as it is, Windows XP is inherently not as secure as newer versions of Windows. And this is a fact that both Microsoft and security firms have repeatedly reiterated.