One of the popular operating systems, which captivated the minds of business professionals and home users, is Windows XP. Windows XP has been known for its distinct GUI and easy-to-operate features. It has greatly evolved when compared to its predecessors and showcases support for several hardware and data servers. Similarly, Microsoft Office 2003 is one of the best office suites available in the market. However, everything gets old with time, and one needs to update products sooner or later. Microsoft has made an announcement that it will be discontinuing support for Windows XP and Office 2003 on April 8, 2014. This is in terms with Microsoft’s Support Lifecycle Policy, which provides 10 years of support for every Microsoft Business and Developer product.

Many businesses and companies have being using Windows XP as the primary and only operating system for all the computers. Both Windows XP and Microsoft Office 2003 are prominently used by business professionals, as well as working class. Many of the customized company’s software are made over the XP platform, and fail to work on other products. With discontinuation of support from Microsoft, your machine will not receive any security updates or software hot fixes. It will also not provide any technical support or driver updates for the new hardware.

If your company continues to use Windows XP and Microsoft Office 2003, then your company’s data is vulnerable to modern security threats and compliance risks. This may even cause a control failure, which may breach your entire system and suspend all the certifications. You cannot upgrade your hardware, if you continue using Microsoft XP as several Independent Software Vendors (ISV) and Hardware manufacturers are reluctant to code drivers for the same. The open document formats has now switched to XML encoding, which is available only in the new office suites (Microsoft Office 2013). Microsoft Office 2003 does not support any open document formats prevalent today.

Sticking with Windows XP is a major hindrance, while Microsoft has rolled out the new Windows 8 Platform. However, Windows 8 comprises of young technical architecture, and its user interface has several bugs, with the elimination of typical start button. Old users find it difficult to adjust with Windows 8, owing to its tablet-customized GUI and functioning.

To keep your data safe, and run all the existing applications, the Windows 7 operating system is the best. It has support for the old hardware and easily executes all the enterprise applications. Windows 7 is a highly evolved product, and all hardware vendors and ISV support it. Migration to Windows 7 and Office 2013 is a better deal; as it will keep a check on your IT budget, and will give you time for welcoming the new hardware. Both of them boast a GUI similar to Windows XP and Office 2003, and users will experience a smooth transition over the systems. All your existing certificates can be maintained and upgraded by switching to Windows 7 and office 2013, and they can be interfaced with all the older server applications and macros. So, it is advisable to switch to Windows 7 and Microsoft Office 2013 rather than the young Windows 8.