Windows XP
Windows XP is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base. The name "XP" is short for "eXPerience", highlighting the enhanced user experience.It can use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001 and was released worldwide for retail sale on October 25, 2001, and over 400 million copies were in use in January 2006.
Microsoft Office 2003
Microsoft Office 2003 which released to manufacturing on August 19, 2003 and launched on October 21, 2003, is an office suite written and distributed by Microsoft for their Windows operating system.Office 2003 was the first version to use Windows XP style icons, visual styles and colors.End Of Support Windows XP and Office 2003
On April 10, 2012, Microsoft reaffirmed that extended support for Windows XP and Office 2003 would end on April 8, 2014 and suggested that administrators begin preparing to migrate to a newer OS.After this date, customers running Windows XP will no longer receive new security updates, non-security hotfixes, free or paid assisted support options, or online technical content updates. This means that any new vulnerabilities discovered in Windows XP after its "end of life" will not be addressed by new security updates from Microsoft.
Running Windows XP SP3 and Office 2003 in your environment after their end of support date may expose your company to potential risks, such as:
- Security & Compliance Risks: Unsupported and unpatched environments are vulnerable to security risks. 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.
- Lack of Independent Software Vendor (ISV) & Hardware Manufacturers support: A recent industry report from Gartner Research suggests "many independent software vendors (ISVs) are unlikely to support new versions of applications on Windows XP in 2011; in 2012, it will become common." And it may stifle access to hardware innovation: Gartner Research further notes that in 2012, most PC hardware manufacturers will stop supporting Windows XP on the majority of their new PC models.
Why is Microsoft ending support for Windows XP and Office 2003?
In 2002 Microsoft introduced its Support Lifecycle policy based on customer feedback to have more transparency and predictability of support for Microsoft products. As per this policy, Microsoft Business and Developer products, including Windows and Office products, receive a minimum of 10 years of support (5 years Mainstream Support and 5 years Extended Support), at the supported service pack level.Thus, Windows XP SP3 and Office 2003 will go out of support on April 8, 2014. If your organization has not started the migration to a modern desktop, you are late. Based on historical customer deployment data, the average enterprise deployment can take 18 to 32 months from business case through full deployment. To ensure you remain on supported versions of Windows and Office, you should begin your planning and application testing immediately to ensure you deploy before end of support.
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