Microsoft has officially announced that it will retire support on the Windows 7 operating system and Windows Server 2008 R2 on January 14, 2020. That means any computer or server with these operating systems installed will be completely exposed to serious hacker attacks aimed at taking control of your network, stealing data, crashing your system and inflicting a host of other business-crippling problems you do NOT want to have to deal with.

Companies housing financial and medical information are required by law to upgrade any and all computer systems because firewalls and anti-virus software will NOT be sufficient to completely protect them (or you).

And while it may seem like a ways off today, updating an IT infrastructure is a large task that takes considerable time. It’s important you take action NOW, before it’s too late.

This will require businesses upgrade the computers in their office running these applications so that they are not exposed to serious security risks, downtime, and integrations glitches with other applications and a host of other problems. Let’s take a look at some of the key points of what the End Of Life for these pieces of software really means for your business operations in the most practical terms.

No More Patches or Updates; No More Security.

In the simplest sense this means that they will no longer receive patches and updates from Microsoft; this statement belies the true repercussions and potential consequences of continuing to actively use these systems in your business or network. No new patches or updates means no new security fixes regardless of what exploits surface publicly; even if it is one day after the expiration date. Attackers are more sophisticated and profit-oriented than ever and the tools to infiltrate and exploit networks and systems were never more available and easy to use than they are right now. Security holes in your server and databases not only puts your customers and clients at risk of a data breach but it is also a liability for your company in terms of lost revenue and hefty fines in the event of a breach as well as being in violation of PCI and HIPAA compliance.

No Longer Compliant with PCI and HIPAA Standards.

It’s important to reiterate that last point; PCI and HIPAA compliance requires up-to-date patches on all databases and operating systems. If your business needs to be PCI or HIPAA compliant, you will automatically be out of compliance. It is mandatory to upgrade to a newer solution simply to maintain these compliance standards.

Integration with the Cloud equals Peace of Mind.

Many options come along with upgrading as well. Implementing cloud services for backup can secure off-site data in case of a disaster and speed up restoration of your database many times over allowing you to get back to business as usual after an emergency faster.  Many businesses over-spec their server needs and end up paying for hardware they do not utilize. Migrating your server and database to the cloud allows you to only pay for the hardware that you require and offers the flexibility to easily and instantaneously upgrade to more powerful options, even temporarily if necessary, when the need arises without having to purchase all new on-site systems.

ASON Brings it All Together; Reliable Solutions for Your Company.

As a local Microsoft Certified Partner, ASON has been committed to helping businesses by identifying the Microsoft Risk within their own IT infrastructure. ASON can guide you through the myriad of upgrade options and help you find the unique solution that works best for your company and your style of doing business and brings 24x7x365 technical support to you, all the while easing the transition to new software with a modern, secure and reliable approach to these software solutions.

Network Assessment.

ASON can come to your office and conduct a Network Assessment — to not only determine what specific computers and servers will be affected by this announcement, but also to assess other security, backup and efficiency factors that could be costing you in productivity and hard dollars. This assessment will be able to expose a number of security risks and issues that you weren’t aware of, but also find ways to make your business FAR more efficient and productive.

Failing to plan or take action to migrate will put your business at risk:

• Payment Compliance | Lack of PCI compliance means that credit card companies will no longer do business with an organization
• No patches for security upgrades
  
• No safe haven | physical and virtual data will be vulnerable to any and all security threats
• No compliance | customers will start to fail standard compliance audits

Take Action Now | Get up to speed

Allow ASON to help migrate your out-of-date operating systems to the latest supported version that will equip and protect your vital information structure.