14 DAY TRIAL // The UK government is making serious efforts to keep computers still running Windows XP on the safe side and according to a new report, the local authorities are negotiating a deal with Microsoft for extended support until the migration is completed.
The Register is reporting that the Department of Health is negotiating a deal with Microsoft, supposed to keep over 1 million PCs operated by NHS in England protected after end-of-support comes for Windows XP, which is scheduled to take place in April this year.
While the overall costs of the agreement are yet to be disclosed, the DoH told the source that negotiations are still on-going right now, but a deal is very likely to be reached by April.
“We are discussing plans with Microsoft for putting in place a migration plan and extended support for the NHS,” a spokesperson said.
“As well as mitigating against the potential risks of unsupported Windows XP, we hope this will save a lot of money for the NHS alongside the benefits of more modern operating systems.”
A support engineer that’s currently providing migration support for Microsoft has also confirmed that negotiations are under way right now, but again refused to provide information on how much the department is going to pay for extended Windows XP support.
“I have spoken with two of our teams currently in the middle of large XP upgrades. Both have agreed an amount for extended support,” Mark Corley, chief technology officer with Microsoft systems integrator Avanade UK, told the same source.
“It seems that, as with most prices, there was a level of negotiation. This included bundled purchase of additional software and services and a commitment around timescales to be off XP.”
Windows XP is currently installed on a total of 29 percent of desktop computers worldwide, so it’s very clear that the transition to a newer platform won’t be completed in time.