Prepare now for Windows XP end…

Earlier this month Microsoft announced it will end support for Windows XP in a year, potentially leaving a host of New Zealand businesses open to risk.

Support for the 11-year-old operating system ends of April 8, 2014, but with the 12-month countdown now underway, businesses still using XP could face vulnerabilities and security risks.

Research group Gartner estimates over 15% of midsize and large enterprises will still have Windows XP running on at least 10% of their PCs after Microsoft support ends on that date.

"By far, the security risk is the most concerning for customers as there are more sophisticated forms of attack which can impact safety of personal information and cause business disruption and extra costs," Paul Muckleston, managing director, Microsoft New Zealand said at the time.

"The risks are real and the only way businesses and consumers can protect themselves is to upgrade.

With this in mind, Gartner provides recommendations on what organisations should do to ensure they will either be off these products or have considered the risks of continuing to run them.

Understand the risks involved

"Not having support means that organisations' PCs could be vulnerable to attack," says Michael Silver, vice president, Gartner.

"New vulnerabilities are always being found, and new vulnerabilities that are found in more current products could affect Windows XP.

"Any unpatched device can be vulnerable to attack."

Believing many applications will no longer be supported while running on Windows XP, Silver claims businesses may have to resolve issues and problems in-house, which could result in system downtime.

Assess position

Silver believes organisations which are nearly or completely finished migrating off Windows XP should reassess their position by reviewing project plans and ensuring they are on target to meet the deadline

"Organisations that believe they're unlikely to complete their migration projects by April 2014 should prioritise their applications and users so that they can reduce the risks by addressing critical resources first," he says.

Too many applications?

Classify Applications and Users — Work on Critical Ones First

Believing companies to have far too many applications, Silver claims businesses must conduct several analyses on their application portfolios after XP support ends, and in preparation for Windows 7 or 8 migrations.

"Organisations where users are administrators typically have one application for every 10 users, with about half of these requiring Windows to run," he says.

"Gartner defines a critical application (or the user of critical applications) as one where if the application fails or the user can't do his or her job, there could be financial or legal consequences.

"For critical applications that can run on Windows 7, consider moving these users first. If Windows 7 can't be used, prioritize these applications and users so that you can move them as soon as possible."

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