6 months until end of Windows XP support.

The end of Windows XP and Office 2003 support from Microsoft is now only 6 months away. As in our previous news item, from April 2014, there will no longer be any operating system or security updates made available from Microsoft.

There has been much progress made across the University since we first announced that we would no longer be supporting these products in line with Microsoft’s policy. We have managed to reduce the number of XP machines across campus by c. 1250 machines in the last 6 months, either by retiring them and buying new machines, or by upgrading them. There are still many machines to be dealt with though.

We encourage all Faculties, Schools, Directorates and Departments to assist IT Services and IT Supporters to get the remaining machines updated or replaced by April next year. IT Services have a stable and secure version of the Windows 7 operating system, with Office 2010, that is available for installation. All new PCs bought through the official University supplier will have this image installed, if requested. This will help eliminate a major information security risk for the University.

We have seen from analysis of website traffic that there are also students still using PCs running Windows XP to access documentation. To all students who are using machines with the Windows XP operating system, or the Office 2003 suite, we recommend that you update your machine to at least Windows 7 where possible. Students are entitled to discounts on Microsoft Software from www.theultimatesteal.co.uk.

Staff should also note that we do not recommend upgrading to or purchasing equipment running the Windows 8 operating system. There are serious compatibility issues with this operating system and core services such as RISIS.