Users Stepping Away from Windows XP, but Not Thanks to Microsoft

Windows XP will be retired in April 2014 and everybody knows that, as Microsoft has launched countless campaigns to make sure that users find out about the retirement date.

Even though statistics indicate that many Windows XP users are actually delaying the update, IT experts point out that businesses have started the transition to a newer platform. And still, this isn’t happening as a result of Microsoft’s actions, but rather because they are still using old hardware.

“We're seeing an increase in business, primarily because a lot of clients are running 7- and 8-year-old machines and they know it's time [to upgrade]. A small percentage of that might be driven by the end of support for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, but we don't even count that because it's so small,” Bob Gregory, president of system builder Ocean State Computers in Providence, R.I., was quoted as saying by CRN.

Microsoft expects only 10 percent of Windows XP users to stick to the 11-year-old platform beyond April 8, 2014, emphasizing that Windows 7 and 8 are both much more secure alternatives.