By current estimates Windows XP install base hovers around 20 to 30 percent of the total computers users around the world, but perilously, a significant portion of this is made up of business, financial and industrial users.
This, for Microsoft, and all involved parties, actually, poses quite some risk.
The aging operating system is set to go dark in less than six months, but it recently emerged in a report that approximately 40 percent of Indian banks were still running the old platform — with little to no planning in sight to upgrade to a newer version of Windows.
And Redmond has reacted rather quickly to this new report, saying that this is a risky and potentially hazardous situation, particularly for financial institutions.
According to Amrish Goyal, GM, Windows Business Group at Microsoft, India:
“We have been advising our customers to move off Windows XP for a long time now. There are a significant number of PCs out there that still need to be moved per a plan. The move to a modern OS like Windows 8.1 will not only alleviate the risks for users and businesses but will also open up opportunities posed by modern technology, like the cloud, for them.”
It is not hard to imagine that the Windows XP user base is still using some of the newer technologies like cloud and more in some way, shape or form, even on the ancient and soon-to-be-retired platform.
But the true power, the true possibilities of these new developments can only be gained on a modern operating system like Windows 8.1. And this is what Microsoft seems to be preaching to the companies that are yet to make their upgrading decisions.
