Partner Article

Don’t let Windows XP cost your business

Following the release of Windows 8 and Microsoft’s plans to officially end support of Windows XP in April 2014, Sean Robinson, MD of License Dashboard, advises companies of the hidden costs of this inevitable transition.

Despite being over a decade old (a lifetime in IT), Windows XP remains the dominant operating system (OS) in most firms today, and by a significant margin. In fact, it still runs on 74% of our customers’ computers. Yet on the 8 April 2014 Microsoft will officially end support for Windows XP, effectively consigning it to the annals of history.

While the cost of upgrading all of your PCs to Windows 8 is a big expense (around £100 per computer), this is only one side of the story. Crucially, additional costs will come from making existing third party business software compatible with it. Upgrading this software will likely cost many times more than the new OS. The aftermath of a costly OS upgrade is no time to discover that thousands more must be spent upgrading existing software just to keep the lights on. Firms must plan and prepare now.

Firms also need to know what they are entitled to within their existing software licences and contract agreements so they can budget for any required licence upgrades. Understanding your current Microsoft “effective licence position” or ELP (a reconciliation of the software you have bought with the software you use) in relation to all Microsoft desktop software is essential in advance of refreshing your desktop environment. It will guarantee that you maximise the consumption of your existing licence entitlement whilst significantly reducing your future licencing bill at the same time. And eliminating any surprises comes April!

Firms must then determine the most cost effective upgrade path. With this in mind, it is therefore important for an organisation to not only understand its current end user rights, but also to continue to manage its effective licence position on an on-going basis, making sure it manages its licence obligations, whilst optimising its licence consumption effectively.

Managing your licences and tracking how they are being consumed is essential if you want to ensure that your company is maximising the benefits available. So many organisations fail to apply the required due diligence prior to a major upgrade which, in all incidences, leads to them spending significantly more money than required. Don’t let that happen to you!

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Licence Dashboard .