14 DAY TRIAL // The United Kingdom NHS (National Health Service) is still highly dependent on Windows 7, as the organization has until now upgraded to Windows 10 only 1 percent of its systems.
While running Windows 7 wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing since it still receives updates and security patches from Microsoft, there are two different reasons why the NHS should accelerate the migration to Windows 10.
First, Windows 7 will reach end of life in January 2020, and with less than two years left until this happens, large organizations like the NHS need substantially more time to complete the upgrade to a newer operating system. The process involves many more steps than for a consumer, and it also needs to deal with potential software and hardware compatibility issues.
And second, Windows 7 has already caused major trouble to the NHS previously, after systems were infected in 2017 with the WannaCry ransomware. Windows 10 was the only version of the OS that was immune to the attacks.
Slow migration to Windows 10
According to a report from DH, however, the NHS is running Windows 7 on 74% of the systems used by acute trusts and on 76% of those belonging to mental health trusts. Only 1 percent and 3 percent, respectively, made the transition to Windows 10.
On the other hand, the NHS guarantees that it’ll complete the upgrade to Windows 10 before end of support lands for Windows 7, as the organization is already in talks with Microsoft to prepare the process.
“NHS Digital is currently working with Microsoft and system partners on how best to provide a framework to move to Windows 10,” a spokesperson was quoted as saying. “Any subsequent agreement will be designed to expedite roll out and support organisations. The migration itself is however a local activity, and NHS organisations are all aware that support for the software ends in January 2020.”
The NHS was one of the organizations that struggled to upgrade from Windows XP to supported operating systems, and judging from the progress in switching to Windows 10, there’s a chance that similar challenges will be encountered when Windows 7 reaches end of support.