14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is getting ready to officially discontinue Windows XP in April, but many people are still running it right now, despite Redmond’s offers to move them to either Windows 7 or Windows 8.
A company representative issued a new statement for those still running Windows XP, explaining that they all face huge risks by staying on this OS version.
In Hong Kong, where 16 percent of the desktops are still powered by Windows XP, the situation is critical, Microsoft suggested, mostly because those sticking to the aging platform are mostly businesses.
“Clearly, there's a lack of urgency in some organisations in Hong Kong to make migration to a newer operating system - either Windows 7 or Windows 8 - a priority. We are really worried that these organizations are cutting it too close to the end of service date,” Alan Chan, the national technology officer at Microsoft Hong Kong, was quoted as saying by South China Morning Post.
“The majority of those who have lagged behind in Hong Kong in terms of upgrading from XP are small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as well individual consumers,” Chan said.
Windows XP is still powering approximately 28 percent of computers worldwide, but its market share is slowly dropping as we get closer to the official retirement date in April.
Microsoft has sketched quite a smart strategy to make sure that more Windows XP users jump ship, launching now only Windows 8.1, but also preparing another large update that could see daylight in April.
At the same time, Redmond has also announced that its BUILD developer conference would take place in early April, which gives the company a chance to get in touch with users still on XP and provide more last-minute migration advice to those who are willing to install either Windows 7 or 8.1.