Using Microsoft Windows 7? You need an upgrade.

 

Though the operating system will be supported until January 2020, your business needs to make the switch to Windows 10 now for a stronger, more secure solution that encompasses all the needs of an enterprise network.

 

Can I wait to upgrade to Windows 10 until 2020?

We don’t recommend it. While support is still available for Windows 7, hackers target operating systems they know are losing support because they’re easier to access. As Microsoft focuses on Windows 10, support for 7 weakens. Come early January of 2020, support will cease, leaving Windows 7 vulnerable to hack attacks.

 

Windows 10 offers the following features to improve your business performance and safety (among others):

  • Ransomware protection
  • General malware security
  • Efficient updates
  • Faster operating systems
  • Software compatibility

 

It’s important that your business makes the switch now. As a business IT service provider, we’re here to walk you through each one.

 

Ransomware Protection

The last thing your business needs is to be held hostage by ransomware.

 

Heard of GandCrab? That’s just one of the vicious ransomware viruses active in 2018, capable of regularly eluding security patches. It becomes an awful game of catch-up, where you lose your data and security, and once the damage is done, it’s hard for a business to bounce back.

 

WannaCry was another ransomware attack that targeted and exploited outdated Windows operating systems. As a result, ransom money and halting of operations cost billions of dollars to remedy. You need the highest level of support from your operating system, and the best way to ensure it is to stay on top of operating system upgrades.

 

Malware security

Productivity drastically decreases (or ceases) when employees have an infected system due to:

  • Inability to access files
  • Slow computer performance
  • Corrupted files

 

Windows 10 utilizes Advanced Threat Protection (ATP), which combines Artificial Intelligence with data to protect your computer. ATP:

  • Detects and removes malware before it can break into your network or server
  • Allows individualized access to protected/private files
  • Coordinates the efforts of several products to maximize coverage and protection for enterprise networks

 

Maintaining security is easier with the latest version of Windows. But it’s not a magic pill for security problems. It’s important that your company still exercises best practices in IT security. If it’s been a while since you’ve tested and trained employees, now is a good time to revisit that process, both in regards to web safety and external communications (email, messaging, etc).

 

Efficient Updates

Productivity is the lifeblood of any business. What gets in the way of productivity that shouldn’t? Updates that take forever to install. Imagine an employee coming in to start the day and having to wait until the computer finishes updating. Skirt this with Windows 10.

 

Updates include bug catches and system/security patches. Without these frequent, automatic updates, hackers can slide into your system when you’re unaware. And once they’re in, they wreak havoc.

 

For an insider look at how harmful these hackers can be, check out our latest blog round-up on the cybersecurity threats many businesses are facing right now.

 

Faster Operating Systems

So you’ve ordered new computers that now need to be configured. Once your employee receives the device, the computer has to run the setup program. The last thing you want is a long setup time. Windows 10 is speedy, and many programs will adapt to this operating system.

 

That means it will take longer for them to respond in outdated models. Wasting valuable time on a slow system isn’t in any company’s best interest.

 

Software Compatibility

Program designers update apps and create their software to cooperate with the latest and greatest. Have you ever tried to run advanced software on an old system? Slower than molasses crawling down a frozen hill in January. Make life easy and make the switch.

 

Upgrading to a new operating system isn’t always high on the priority list. “But my current system works just fine.” And maybe it does. But with such high risk for problems in the not-so-distant future, it’s unwise to rest on your laurels. The spend on an upgrade is minor compared to the spend on an IT disaster.

 

Save your data. Save your business. Make the switch to Windows 10.

 

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