Windows 10 for all your staff with WVD
Since its release in 2009, Windows 7 proved to be an incredibly popular operating system. Much like Windows XP, Windows 7 was the default choice for consumers and organisations alike for many years. Users praised its simplicity and the range of software that worked for it, as well as its speed. Even last year, a decade after its release and with three major releases of Windows being released after it, a study from Kaspersky lab reported that 38% of consumers and 47% of businesses were still using Windows 7.
As we know, all good things come to an end and in January 2020, Microsoft ended support officially for Windows 7. This meant that Microsoft was no longer releasing crucial security updates and patches to the operating system. Microsoft tend to release security patches at least once a month so it is clear that there are always bugs that need to be squashed. Therefore, if you have no upgraded away from Windows 7, your computer and the data stored on may be under threat from cyber criminals. N.B. If you also use Windows Server 2008 – this reached end of life on the same date.
Windows 10 was the clear direction of travel for many and is the one that Microsoft pushed. A free upgrade to Windows 10 was originally offered to users, but that ended in 2016. So, if you are looking to make the upgrade, what are your options?
You could purchase new Windows 10 licences for all of the PCs in your organisation, but that could quickly become expensive. Fortunately, there is another way, which could offer better value: Windows Virtual Desktop.
Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD) is a Windows 10 desktop hosted in the Cloud on Microsoft’s Azure platform – similar to our own Hosted Desktop.
Windows Virtual Desktop allows you to run a full Windows 10 desktop environment over the internet to your client device – whether that is a PC, Mac or tablet. If you migrate all of your important data over to your WVD environment, you can even run it safely on your Windows 7 computer. This is because all data within your WVD environment is encapsulated, meaning none of it leaves the cloud and your computer is only logging keystrokes.
WVD is also completely future-proofed, with Microsoft providing regular security and feature updates for the platform, so that you are covered for updates long into the future. You will even be able to squeeze a little bit more life out of that Windows 7 machine too!
The pricing structure of WVD is simple to manage – all you do is pay monthly for what you use and how often you use it (these costs don’t work for everybody, and in those cases, our Hosted Desktop is a better choice – find out more about that here).
If you are interested in learning more about WVD, or you would simply like to discuss what your options are for migration away from Windows 7, please get in touch.