Before Windows 7 heaven comes an XP extension

by Alex Zaharov-Reutt

Tuesday, 07 October 2008

Page 1 of 2 ! With Windows 7 due in either 2009 or in 2010, and plenty of companies still happy with their XP deployments, Microsoft has done the inevitable, extending XP downgrade rights for another six months. Although Windows XP is 7 years old, it has gone through a range of improvements to make it the OS of choice for many companies – and “business” consumers – thanks to three service packs consisting of a host of improvements and upgrades of which security has been an important part. Most companies have “standard operating environments” or SOE’s which dictate the software a company uses, from operating systems to software and hardware, and companies have traditionally been stragglers when it comes to adopting Microsoft’s latest operating system. While Vista SP1 was the clincher for some companies to make the move, Windows XP has satisfied the needs of many companies who want to get as much out of their deployments as possible. In our newly credit crunched world, this is smarter policy than ever, especially if any required new software runs happily on XP, and as companies make improvements at the back end instead with servers and virtualisation. Given that XP is being supported until 2014, there really isn’t that much pressure on companies to upgrade now, no matter how much Microsoft might want it to happen. And with downgrade rights for Windows Vista Business and Ultimate Editions, Microsoft can continue selling Vista licenses while allowing companies to deploy XP as required. And, given that Microsoft has extended Vista to XP downgrade rights from January 31, 2009 to July 31, 2009 – an additional six months – the chance they might extend it even further is something that Microsoft must be considering, although at this stage it is not guaranteed. A CRN article quoted a Microsoft spokesperson saying that: “Downgrade rights do not expire. As more customers make the move to Windows Vista, we want to make sure that they are making that transition with confidence and that it is as smooth as possible. Providing downgrade media for a few more months is part of that commitment." What else has Microsoft said on XP downgrade rights? Please read on to page 2. << First page <   1 2 Next page > Last page - Post your comment >>

 

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