With three years remaining until the end of its lifecycle, Windows 7 has prematurely been dubbed unfit for use in business use by Microsoft's German division.
According to a blog post by Microsoft Germany and reported (and translated) by ITPro UK, the operating system is no longer fit for business use given the security threats of the current era.
While basic support for Windows 7 wrapped two years ago, the OS will continue to receive security updates until 2020. Despite this, Microsoft Germany head Markus Nitschke said Windows 7 lacked general support for new hardware peripherals and that malware attacks had caused high operating costs and downtime for those on the system.
"Even today, (Windows 7) fails to meet the needs of modern technology and the high standards of security required by IT departments," Nitschke said, according to the translation.
“Support for the Windows 7 platform is due to end in January 2020, at which point customers still using the OS will no longer receive security updates or technical support from Microsoft. But Monday's blog post argues that companies not planning a transition away from Windows 7 within three years face 'enormous dangers'.
“As we saw with Windows XP, companies should start making the switch early to avoid risks and costs later on.”
ITPro UK reported Windows 7’s user base was still double that of Windows 10’s, which Microsoft said was now running on 400 million devices. Windows 7 runs on 48 percent of desktop and laptop computers, while 10 runs on 24 percent.
The Microsoft Germany blog went on to say that going forward, Windows 10 was the only version that would offer support for Intel, AMD and Qualcomm’s latest chipsets.
Windows 7 was released in June 2009 to great success, and about one year later it had sold 150 million licenses and, according to Microsoft, became the fastest-selling operating system in history.
Microsoft Australia has been contacted for comment on whether this view was shared by the company's local division.
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