In less than a year, Microsoft's development team will stop supporting the Windows 7 operating system. If your small- to medium-sized business (SMB) decides to wait until the last day to upgrade to Windows 10, you will place the company in a situation where your IT infrastructure is unsupported and vulnerable.
Migrating a lot of computers and other devices in the workplace to a new system is not a procedure that can be finished in one sitting. Even if you work on the task with a dependable managed IT services provider (MSP) like Complete Technology, implementing this process at the last minute will seriously impact your organization's bottom line and productivity in a negative way.
How can your business successfully upgrade to Windows 10 while minimizing interruptions in the office? Here are some key things to consider:
Understand Windows as a Service (WaaS)
Many companies do not fully understand WaaS, and there is a lot of misinformation about it floating around. This results in a lot of confusion and distrust regarding Windows 10.
Windows 10 introduces a new way to service, deploy, and update its operating system. Microsoft's developers have re-imagined the entire migration process to simplify the tasks that IT staff and users work on, while maintaining a stable Windows 10 user experience for everyone.
The WaaS enhancements concentrate on optimizing customer involvement in the development of the operating system, streamlining the servicing and deployment of Windows client computers, and evening out the resources that Windows eventually needs for maintenance and deployment.
Support timelines of Microsoft products, including Windows and Office
A good MSP will often remind you when key software has reached its end-of-life support – such as the January 2020 expiration date for Windows 7 – and how these deadlines will affect your plans of upgrading. It's also a good idea to know about any compatibility issues between potential operating systems and the tools your business uses.
For instance, Office 2019 and Office 365, the flagship productivity suite from Microsoft, will only run in a computer that has Windows 10 installed. If your business is using anything older than that, you will not only have to prepare for an operating system migration, but a productivity suite migration as well.
Take compatibility into consideration
Enterprises have to make an assessment of their hardware use by doing research on manufacturer websites. If your organization has a support contract for office equipment, you might be eligible for hardware upgrades (including Windows 10), so have your IT staff or MSP review any and all vendor contracts to find out how hardware upgrades and support are handled when the operating system is being phased out.
In case your office equipment is not covered by a support contract, audit every computer for its compatibility with Windows 10 before getting too far into the migration process. If a computer cannot run the new operating system, you'll have to invest in new hardware before Windows 7 reaches its end-of-support date. Whatever approach your company decides to take, it has to get the ball rolling as soon as possible to avoid downtime and delays.
Our experts at Complete Technology can streamline your company’s operating system migration. We redefine IT services for customers in Kansas City by letting them concentrate on their business, not IT distractions. Give us a call today, and we’ll offer you a free consultation to help you decide what is best for your business.
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