Migration from XP made more complex by demand for BYOD

Microsoft will pull the support plug on Windows XP on April 8 2014. But with only 10 months to go to the deadline as many as 39 percent of enterprises have yet to migrate to another version of Windows, warns services and solutions company ITC Infotech.

Current trends towards BYOD are also making the migration process more complex but businesses need to address the issues in order to future proof their operations.

A recent survey by Forrester shows that more than two-thirds of North American and European information workers personally select the smartphones and tablets they use for work. Some 46 percent also use laptops that aren't on their company's approved list. The result is a blurring of the boundaries between personal and business IT with staff using their own devices to access company applications and data.

In switching from XP to Windows 7 or 8 organizations need to ensure they retain the flexibility for staff to use their own devices and maintain a secure environment. ITC Infotech warns that companies need to start the migration immediately or risk overshooting the deadline. Those that are still using XP, come April 2014, could face increased costs as Microsoft will raise the price of support for the old system to encourage migration of reluctant users.

Hardeep Singh Garewal, President -- European Operations, ITC Infotech says, "Once the deadline date is overshot, it will lead to cost escalation of up to three times as much to continue to receive support for XP, and then after a short period, support will be cut off altogether. It's therefore imperative that the transformation begins now and it would be relevant and appropriate to address the BYOD issue at the same time".

Does your business have a plan in place for the end of XP support? Will you be switching to a newer version of Windows or moving to a different platform entirely? How will you cope with demands for BYOD? Do let us know your thoughts.