In the business world, it's common knowledge that Microsoft is ending support for its popular operating system Windows XP on April 8. However, with recent data showing that 29% of the world's computers are still running Windows XP, it appears that the rest of the world is slow to act upon Microsoft's expiration date.

This OS expiration situation is putting a large chunk of the world's data at risk. This is because a software manufacturer like Microsoft is responsible for providing users with security updates that help keep their systems protected from the web's worst and latest threats. Without Microsoft providing users with this crucial piece of their network security, hackers will have unprecedented access to the world's information.

Windows XP was released 12 years ago when the Internet was a much different place. Consequently, Windows XP isn't built to handle the latest security challenges from the Internet, and with 29% of the world's computers running XP (China is leading the way with a 25% market share of XP computers), this translates to an enormous amount of PCs left to upgrade in a short period of time.

It's difficult to ascertain how much it would cost to upgrade the world's XP machines, but we can look at Japan as an example of the price to upgrade just one country. After taking an assessment of their computers, the Japanese government decided that they weren't going to upgrade 200,000 of its XP machines in order to save the $2.4 billion that it would cost to upgrade. With this figure in mind, the price to upgrade 29% of the world's PCs might be more than most country's GDP.

Like Japan, some users may choose to not upgrade from Windows XP because they perceive it to be a major expense. Network Synergy can work with your budget to come up with an affordable solution to get your software up to date. We think the cost to upgrade is worth the expense if it means securing your company's sensitive information. Running the latest software also opens up the door to new solutions that will give your business an advantage over the competition.

Other users may be hesitant to upgrade because XP has worked so well for them over the years. As XP gets older, it will become less reliable, which will be very evident after Microsoft pulls the plug. Network Synergy can walk you through your new OS like Windows 7 or 8.1 in order to help you become acquainted with the new workflows, and we think that any XP faithful will come to enjoy Microsoft's newer and user-friendly systems once they get used to it.

Don't let April 8th catch your XP systems off guard. It's not too late to give us a call at (203) 261-2201 and get your XP computers, along with any other older technologies in your office, up to date. To take advantage of the latest solutions for your business, give Network Synergy a call today!