Originally published on Friday, June 07, 2013
Windows XP and Compatibility Issues By now, you have most likely heard that Microsoft Windows XP will no longer be supported after April of 2014. It’s easy to simply inform users that they have to upgrade their PCs because of this support expiration. But why exactly do you have to do this? Below are some explanations and further details into this popular topic.
Microsoft Office
Microsoft Office 2013 requires an operating system of either Windows 7 or Windows 8. If you want to upgrade the Office suite on your XP machine, you will have compatibility issues. For servers, it will require Windows Server 2008 or newer. Users who want to integrate their Exchange Server 2003 with the new Microsoft Office 2013 will also encounter issues.
Security and Compliance
Unsupported and unpatched environments are vulnerable to security risks. Microsoft will cease creating security updates, non-security hotfixes, free or paid assisted support options or online technical content updates. This may result in an officially recognized control failure by an internal or external audit body, leading to suspension of certifications, and/or public notification of the organization’s inability to maintain its systems and customer information.
Independent Software Vendor and Hardware Manufactures Support
Because major software companies are beginning to no longer support XP or Server 2003 machines, most PC hardware manufacturers will stop supporting Windows XP on the majority of their new PC models. As illustrated with the Microsoft Office compatibility issues, software vendors are also unlikely to support new versions of applications on Windows XP, moving forward.
