The long goodbye for Windows XP is getting shorter, and health professionals who haven’t upgraded their Windows XP desktops yet might want to start that process, writes Neil Jordan, general manager of Health Worldwide for Microsoft and chief strategist for the organization’s health industry initiatives. On April 8, support for Windows XP will end.
As Jordan shares on the Microsoft in Health blog, “Windows XP has been a well-loved and solid operating system that for more than a decade has provided the computing paradigm that health organizations needed. But a lot has changed since Windows XP and the health industry got together, and now it’s time to move on.”
The end of Windows XP support means no new security updates, non-security hotfixes, assisted support options (whether free or paid), or online technical content updates from Microsoft.
But Jordan writes that the new Windows (Windows 7, Windows 8 or Windows 8.1) can better meet the needs of mobile health professionals.
He gives this advice: “As you make the transition, we encourage you to think about: What is going to best serve your staff given their current work environment? They will continue to use desktops, laptops and computers on wheels, of course, but more and more they’re using tablets and phones. Windows 8.1 can help you support the mobile and collaborative needs of today’s health professional, while also making sure that sensitive data are protected on the various devices they use. To help you modernize your systems as smoothly and cost-effectively as possible, we have a vast amount of resources on the Windows XP end-of-support webpage.”
Jordan writes that Microsoft and its partners can provide application and desktop virtualization solutions to connect old applications to new technology such as touch-screen devices, and new ways of accessing information from existing applications (so you don’t even have to re-architect or re-certify older applications).There are many ways to benefit from the new Windows and still be able to use your existing applications – as Palmetto Health is doing.
Head over to the Microsoft in Health blog to get more details on making a smooth transition from Windows XP to a newer Windows.
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Athima Chansanchai
Microsoft News Center Staff