Microsoft: Windows XP to be killed-off by 2014

Microsoft has stated that support for Windows XP and Office 2003 is coming to a close in the near future. The company has been talking about its next generation operating system, Windows 8, at its Build Developer Conference in California this week. Most enterprises have yet to fully migrate to Windows 7, and now have to worry about expediting that move.

“We are end-of-lifing XP and Office 2003 and everything prior, in April 2014. So for all those companies that have the old products that haven’t quite started the refresh, guess what? This has been a great product, XP has been a wonderful product; great TCO has been given. It’s now time for it to go,” stated Kevin Turner, Microsoft’s Chief Operating Officer.

Windows XP, which debuted in 2001, is still used by many of Microsoft’s business customers. Microsoft had extended support for Windows XP until 2014, but now Microsoft is making it clear that 2014 will be the true time of death. “We’re basically giving it a time of death stamp,” Turner stated.

During Build, Microsoft even stated that more than half of all Windows users are running Windows 7. Most analysts will argue that the majority of businesses today still use Windows XP. Looks like its time to expedite that upgrade plan.