Are you prepared for the 2020 Problem?

By Soundbytes Winter 2019

on 30/01/2019 00:00:00

It’s only just turned 2019 but with less than a year to go until 2020, and a potentially a big IT issue on the horizon, now’s the time to take action.

Most businesses nowadays rely on Microsoft software to help run their daily activities – for emails, documents, the company server and the PCs themselves. However, from January 2020 some of the most popular Microsoft business software packages reach 'End of Life' and will no longer be supported. If your company is using any of them, it could lead to significant problems for you in the future.

The following software will be affected:

Small Business Server 2011
Windows Server 2008
Exchange 2010
Windows 7
Office 2010

We’re calling this The 2020 Problem.

Each product in the Microsoft software portfolio has a Life Cycle Start Date, a Mainstream Support End Date and an Extended Support End Date, spanning roughly an 8-10 year period. Following the expiration of End of Life or Extended Support, Microsoft will no longer support, fix or provide security updates and patches for the software. They will abandon it in order to focus their teams on supporting newer software.

Those companies that do not upgrade will therefore be in danger of all sorts of data protection problems, especially the following:

- Being vulnerable to hackers and cybercrime
- Losing productivity to downtime
- Being open to prosecution under GDPR (for using out of date software)

Be prepared

If you are unsure whether or not your business is running any of this software, it's worth finding out as soon as possible. We have written a new guide, called The 2020 Problem that covers how to check which software you’re using, explains End of Life in more detail and the actions you can take now to avoid being affected.

Click on the image to download our new guide:

Since upgrades can take months to plan and implement properly, the sooner you start preparations, the better it will be for your business. By acting now, your chances of a smooth and seamless transition are greatly improved. Additionally, there are lots of benefits of upgrading your software early as not only will it give your business a new lease of life as new versions of software have all sorts of tools that can cut down the time you spend on processes, it will save you money and give you a competitive edge.

As a registered Gold Microsoft Partner, we are happy to advise you on the next steps to take to ensure that your company won’t fall victim to the 2020 Problem. If you wish to get in touch, please contact one of our Sales team on sales@ntsols.com or 01252 235 235.

This article is from our Winter 2019 Soundbytes Newsletter. To read the other articles from the newsletter, click on a link below:

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