There was a time when operating system upgrades were only pursued as the result of system failure. Dead hard drive? Might as well install a new OS on the new one. Need to replace your whole computer? It’s going to come with a new OS. The problem is that this break-fix mentality has no place in the modern internet-driven world. Software updates and new operating systems are now pushed out regularly and in order to keep up with growing security demands, users need to embrace change.
Operating systems of the past are not well equipped to deal with today’s threats. Windows XP, which still holds onto 10% of today’s OS market share, was released back in 2001. This was six years before broadband internet would become mainstream and years before online shopping and banking would dominate the market. Even Windows 7, which is still new in many people’s minds, is seven years old and struggles to keep up with the growing demands of security in the new online infrastructure. The default internet browser technology of these operating systems is outdated and the underlying code has been stretched to its limits with years of constant patching.
Newer operating systems try to take a more proactive approach to system security. The underlying code is literally years ahead of past operating systems and since it has been written from the ground up for modern needs, it is less likely to have security holes. When security updates are released, they tend to be preventative instead of reactive. This keeps the burden of system maintenance low and prevents unexpected downtime.
Moving forward, system upgrades will be even more frequent than they are today. Windows 10 is billed as the last official operating system that Microsoft will release. All future iterations are expected to be delivered as part of standard service upgrades. This means that once you upgrade to Windows 10, all future upgrades will be delivered automatically.
The good news is that all end users with Windows 7 or 8 still have the option to upgrade to Windows 10 for free. However, you will need to act fast as the upgrade promotion ends on July 29th. If you are a business owner with multiple systems in need of upgrades, or if your computers are more than five years old it may be best seek an IT consultation.
If you would like to receive a business consultation with our IT engineers, give us a call at 212-242-2942.
