Microsoft is ending its Windows 7 support soon.
On Monday, Microsoft released an official announcement saying that they will no longer support Windows 7 one year from now. They are giving Windows 7 users a period of transition until January 14, 2020.
In a blog by Brad Anderson, the corporate vice president for Microsoft 365, he said that changes and upgrade in technology are inevitable. There's never been a better time to start putting in motion the things you need to do to shift your organization to a modern desktop with Microsoft 365, he added, the CNET hinted.
Microsoft however assured that they will continue to support and provide security updates for Windows 7 customers after the date given on certain conditions. They made it clear that the support will be limited to Windows 7 support for business enterprise and not for general consumers or individual users.
To lighten the transition from Windows 7 to Windows 10, two methods of support will be made available.
First, a security update will be made available until January 2023 for users of Windows 7 Extended Security Updates plan, Windows 7 Enterprise and Windows 7 Professional. Second, a free Windows 7 Extended Security Updates plan will be available for establishments that will avail the Microsoft Virtual Desktop to virtualize Windows 7.
Microsoft recommends the users who will be affected by its Windows 7 support withdrawal to upgrade to Windows 10.
One main concern that users might face after Microsoft ends its Windows 7 support is the capability of the hardware that they are using. There are users and probably still a lot of them that use older hardware which unfortunately is not supported by Windows 10.
Microsoft further explained the said scenario with a statement saying that the lifecycle begins when a product is released and ends when it's no longer supported. They added that knowing key dates in this lifecycle helps you make informed decisions about when to update, upgrade or make other changes to your software.
Microsoft's official mainstream Windows 7 support actually ended in January 2015 and was extended. However, the January 14, 2020 support ends will be considered Microsoft's final halt on all the Windows 7 security patches as well as the OS itself.
Windows 7 was released in 2009 three years after Windows Vista was introduced. Windows 7 was considered a success and is still installed on 42.8 percent of Windows PC. Windows 10 surpassed its user numbers just a few days ago, considering that Windows 10 had been introduced to retail way back 2015, according to The Next Web.
