Are you Affected by the Pending Retirement of Windows XP SP3 and Office 2003?

As a Microsoft Certified Partner, Bridgepoint reminds its customers that Windows XP SP3 and Office 2003 will go out of support on April 8, 2014. Microsoft has alerted its partners of the following:

If you have not started the migration to a modern desktop, you are late. Based on historical customer deployment data, the average enterprise deployment can take 18 to 32 months from business case through full deployment, and Bridgepoint staff has seen similar numbers.  To ensure you remain on supported versions of Windows and Office, you should begin your planning and application testing immediately to ensure you deploy before support ends.

More information from Microsoft:

After April 8, 2014, there will be no new security updates, non-security hotfixes, free or paid assisted support options or online technical content updates.

Running Windows XP SP3 and Office 2003 in your environment after their end of support date may expose your company to potential risks, such as:

• Security & Compliance Risks: Unsupported and unpatched environments are vulnerable to security risks. This may result in an officially recognized control failure by an internal or external audit body, leading to suspension of certifications, and/or public notification of the organization’s inability to maintain its systems and customer information.
• Lack of Independent Software Vendor (ISV) & Hardware Manufacturers support: A recent industry report from Gartner Research suggests “many independent software vendors (ISVs) are unlikely to support new versions of applications on Windows XP in 2011; in 2012, it will become common.” And it may stifle access to hardware innovation: Gartner Research further notes that in 2012, most PC hardware manufacturers will stop supporting Windows XP on the majority of their new PC models.