Microsoft End of Support

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You may have read about the upcoming Microsoft End of Support that is happening now and through 2020 for multiple products.  This is an important topic that all sizes and types of businesses need to address to remain safe and compliant.

We’ve been sending out reminders starting with SQL Server 2008/R2 that had an end of support date of July, 9, 2019.  The end date for extended support for both Windows Server 2008/R2 and Windows 7 is January 14, 2020.  Not only that, but Office 2010 has an extended support end date of October 13, 2020.

Now is the time to think about options and we can help.

Microsoft recommends a move to Windows 10 and Office 365 to remain current with automatic security updates.  We have been successfully migrating our clients in this direction to avoid security issues and compliance concerns.  Nearly 85% of SMBs have PCs that are over 4 years old and an average cost of an SMB data breach is $120,000 – not including the loss of client trust and your reputation. SMBs need to work smarter and combining Windows 10 with Office 365 brings you to a modern office environment. Benefits include:

  • Increased productivity— upgrading to Windows 10 and Office 365 empowers people to collaborate in real time and store and access data
  • Enhanced security—shifting to a cloud-based solution with built in security and monitoring tools provides another layer of safety from external threats
  • Reduced cost—simplify the process of keeping your devices up to date to save time and money

Windows 10 and Office 365 are intelligent solutions, bringing together best-in-class productivity with advanced security and device management capabilities.  Your team will appreciate the modern tools that allow you to be creative and work together all while maintaining security.

  • Streamline collaboration—integrate team chats, meetings and files in one place to increase productivity with Microsoft Teams.  Approximately 4 hours per week per information worker can be saved through improved collaboration and information sharing (Forrester Research 2019)
  • Improve performance with intelligent capabilities—gain instantaneous analysis from intelligent services like Editor, Designer, and Smart Lookup with capabilities built into Office 365
  • Enable work from almost anywhere, on any device—provide secure remote access to employees working from personal devices
  • Leverage built-in automated threat intelligence—threat-protection technologies in Windows 10 help protect against spam, malware, viruses, phishing attempts, malicious links and other threats

If you would like more information or are ready to get started today, please give us a call at (937) 535-4300.  We are a Microsoft Silver partner with a Competency in Cloud Services and can help.