14 DAY TRIAL // Windows XP was retired on April 8, but organizations around the world continue the migration to a newer platform, as moving thousands of computers to a newer OS version takes up to several months.
Canara Bank, one of the largest banks in India, today announced that it finally completed the transition from Windows XP to modern Windows, thus making sure that all its 33,000 computers are completely secure.
Bank representatives explain that the transition was critical in order to make sure that all bank operations are running smoothly, admitting that modern Windows and apps could lead to enhanced productivity and mobility for all employees.
“We want to ensure smooth and streamlined customer experience without any stoppage in day-to-day banking operations. In addition, by migrating our entire base of around 33,000 PCs to modern Windows, we have overcome potential challenges of compatibility with modern hardware, software and applications. The upgrade will also allow our employees for transition to modern applications leveraging latest work processes and mobility,” said RK Dubey, chairman, Canara Bank.
At the same time, Microsoft applauds this achievement, but also issued a warning for all organizations still running Windows XP to follow Canara’s example and move to a newer and more secure version of Windows as soon as possible.
“Running unsupported technology especially in the BFSI sector carries huge risk. Canara Bank is amongst the progressive PSU banks in India that have taken the decision to move off Windows XP. They understand how debilitating and damaging the security breaches can be after support ends. We urge all businesses to complete their migration immediately, if they haven’t already,” said Karan Bajwa, managing director, Microsoft India.
Windows XP is right now installed on 28 percent of the desktop computers worldwide, but security experts believe that the market share is very likely to drop significantly in the coming months, as more organizations complete the migration to a newer and more secure OS version.
Microsoft’s preferred choice for Windows XP users is obviously Windows 8.1, but the biggest problem is that such a significant upgrade also requires hardware changes that make the whole transition a bit too expensive for many companies and organizations out there.
Redmond warns that computers still running Windows XP could become vulnerable overnight if cybercriminals find some unpatched flaws in the operating system, so everyone should at least consider upgrading to a newer OS version as soon as possible to make sure that their data cannot be exploited.