However, the organization will still keep running Windows XP on its computers for another year, and is seeking a third-party company to provide patches for these machines for the next 12 months.
Obviously, at a lower rate.
Microsoft entered into contract with the United States Army at the time of the retirement of its operating system in April last year to offer custom support for Window XP. It is estimated that organizations have to pay $200 per PC for this custom support within the first year.
The price doubles in the second year.
But as this request for information reveals, the US army is looking for a company to provide patches for Windows XP for around 8,000 computers that are in use right now:
“This procurement will ensure the Army has continued extended support to avoid security vulnerabilities on the existing licenses. The security updates for vulnerabilities rated ‘critical’ will be provided at no additional charge, but per hotfix, fees apply for security hotfixes rated ‘important.’ Non-security hotfixes are not available.”
So basically, they are only willing to pay for patches labeled Important.
The good thing is that the US army has got the migration process underway, and estimates the move to a newer operating system to be completed within the next 12 months.
