What the Windows 7 and Server 2008 "End of Life" Means for Your Business.

Microsoft has officially set “end of life” date of January 14, 2020 for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008. All software and security updates will no longer be available for these products. Microsoft and Webatron strongly recommend that all businesses move to Windows 10 sometime before January 2020 as any computers with Windows 7 and servers with Server 2008 (and 2008 R2) will become vulnerable to security risks and viruses.

If you are in the healthcare business, such as a dental office or a medical practice, you run the risk of being out of HIPAA compliance. HIPAA requires that all software and operating systems be fully supported and updated in order to resolve any security vulnerabilities and reduce the risk of exposing sensitive patient data.

Here are some questions our IT customers have been asking us, see the answers below:

What does End of Life mean?

Microsoft will no longer provide technical support for the operating system and security updates will no longer be supplied for any security vulnerabilities.

What can I do if my business still runs on Windows 7 or Server 2008?

Contact Webatron to put a plan together to either replace any workstations or servers running Windows 7 and Server 2008 or upgrade them.

Do I need to replace all my computers running Windows 7?

No, if your computer meets all the requirements for Windows 10 you will only need to purchase a full version license and we will upgrade it.

Do I need to replace all my servers running Server 2008?

No, if your server meets all the requirements for Windows Server 2019 you will only need to purchase a full version license and we will upgrade it.

What happens if I continue to use Windows 7 and Server 2008?

Windows 7 and Server 2008 will be more vulnerable to security risks and viruses after January 14, 2020. If you are a dental or medical office, you run the risk of not being HIPAA compliant.

What other risks do I run if I continue to use Windows 7 and Server 2008 other than security?

If you are a dental or medical office, you run the risk of not being HIPAA compliant.

If you take credit card payments, you run the risk of no longer being PCI compliant.

Also, some software vendors have announced their software will no longer be supported or updated if it’s running on Windows 7 or Server 2008.

So, there is really nothing else I can do beside upgrading or replacing my computers?

There is one more thing a business will be able to do, Microsoft announced that they will offer “Extended Security Updates” for a price. The price will be per year and per computer\server, every year it will double in price and will only extend for 3 years. This program is only for volume licensing customers.

Contact Webatron to see if you qualify for these extended support updates.

What is Webatron doing to help their customers?

We will be providing inventory reports to our customers to let them know what computers are running Windows 7 and which servers are running Server 2008. We will also provide an upgrade or replacement plan for your whole network as part of our IT Support Services, with no added cost to our current IT customers.

If you are not a customer, please Contact Us so we can discuss our Manage IT Services.

If you would like to further discuss this with us, please fill out the Contact Us form or call us at (833)613-1304.