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With Windows XP support about to end, many businesses need to upgrade their networks. It's time to start thinking about Windows 8.1, and we've got some advice for getting started with the new OS.
Windows XP extended support officially ends on April 8, 2014. Undoubtedly, many businesses are busy evaluating their systems' upgrade paths. A survey from Spiceworks (sponsored by CDW) from December 2013 reveals that 76 percent of IT professionals currently run Windows XP on some devices, and that 36 percent will leave Windows XP on at least one device, despite the operating system's forthcoming lack of support.
That's a lot of systems needing upgrades. The survey also shows that most of these systems will likely be upgraded to Windows 7. "Of those IT professionals who still run Windows XP on company desktops and/or laptops, 49 percent plan to upgrade at least some of their devices to Windows 7, while seven percent of IT professionals plan to upgrade to Windows 8 or 8.1."
The Windows 8/8.1 figure sounds tiny, but only if you don't know how surprise-averse IT managers can be when it comes up upgrades. They want to know what they can expect from a newly rolled-out operating system. Windows 7 has been around long enough to be a fully mature OS with few nasty security surprises for IT. Add that to a lot of bad press about Windows 8, and it's little wonder IT professionals are skittish about moving to Windows 8 and 8.1.
IT pros should not, however, be so quick to dismiss an upgrade to the most modern, device-agnostic Windows OS yet. There are many new business features and security options in the latest iteration of Windows. Couple that with the capabilities in the Windows Server 2012 R2 portfolio, and an upgrade to the latest OS may make sense.
Of course, upgrade possibilities vary depending on the hardware a business already has deployed. In some cases, you may have to go to Windows 7 before Windows 8 and 8.1, or you may just want to opt for new hardware. In all likelihood, businesses will end up with a mixture of Windows 7 and Windows 8 clients, perhaps migrating XP desktops to Windows 7 and assigning Windows 8.1 mobile devices to end users. A good reference table is available on TechNet outlining the possible upgrade paths to Windows 8.1.
IT pros should take a look at this rundown of some key business features of Windows 8.1 and consider whether new features make a case (along with budget, manpower, and a host of other factors IT weighs before deciding on upgrades) for bypassing Windows 7 and going straight to Windows 8.1:
| 1. | Boot to Desktop: Users asked for and received the ability to tell their systems to boot directly to the desktop again, bypassing the tile interface previously known as Metro. Microsoft has made Boot to Desktop available in all editions of Windows 8.1. For business users, IT Pros can use Group Policy to push this feature out to Windows 8.1 clients on corporate networks. Currently, there is no explicit Group Policy setting for boot to desktop. However, this TechNet blog post shows how you can create a new registry item in GP under User Configuration→Windows Settings with the following parameters: Key: HKEY_Current_User\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\StartPage\ |
| 2. | Power Command Menu: From a Windows 8.1 client, power users and IT can bring up a power command menu by clicking Windows Key-X. This menu contains handy administration tools, such as Admin-level Command Prompt, Device Manager, Disk Management, and more. It even offers an easy way to shut down the PC! |
via Technology - Google News http://ift.tt/1nidguv
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