Windows XP demise gives small business a tech headache

Millions of small businesses around the world who use Microsoft's ever-popular Windows XP are facing a tricky situation.

What should they do now that Microsoft has pulled the plug and ended technical and security updates for the venerable operating system?

Should they face the expense and upheaval of upgrading to new systems, or stick to what they know and hope for the best?

Despite advance notice of the decision, the 13-year-old XP is still used on almost a third of all personal computers worldwide.

And many businesses have only recently, and grudgingly, begun to consider their options.

The UK government is so concerned it is paying Microsoft £5.5m to extend for departmental computers using Windows XP, Office 2003 and Exchange 2003 for a further 12 months beyond the 8 April cut-off date.

Rosemayre Barry of London-based business, The Pet Chip Company, is one manager who is puzzled and more than a little annoyed that she has been faced with the XP dilemma.

"XP has been excellent," she says. "I'm very put out. When you purchase a product you don't expect it to be discontinued, especially when it's one of [Microsoft's] most used products."

But the code-base underpinning XP started to be outdated, Microsoft says.

"We live in a much more mobile world than 13 years ago; hardware has never been so cost-effective and computing requirements and capabilities have moved on beyond anyone's expectations," says Microsoft's UK Windows commercial chief, David Rodger.

Technology such as touchscreens on smartphones and tablets now take advantage of hardware, software, and processing power that wasn't around in 2001, he adds.

While there's nothing to stop businesses continuing with the operating system, Mark Brown, director of information security at auditing firm Ernst & Young, warns that doing so leaves them increasingly vulnerable to hacking.

"Hackers will use Microsoft's move to cease for XP as an opportunity to take advantage of organisations that haven't got their house in order," Mr Brown says.

While cyber security companies say they will continue to provide Windows XP updates for their antivirus and firewall software, this is unlikely to bridge the void left by the end of Microsoft , they warn.

"The older the operating system the greater the security risks," says Mike Foreman, general manager for small business at computer security company AVG.

Some experts think that small businesses can use the end of XP as a spur to move from a locally-stored software model to one involving web-based services.

There has certainly been plenty of hype around "the cloud" over the last year or so.

With devices such as Google's Chromebook coming on to the market, businesses can now operate completely online. In theory.

A firm could use web-based email, productivity and collaboration software from companies like Google, Microsoft, and Citrix, and back up all their data to a cloud storage provider such as Dropbox or Box.com.

But for some small businesses, this radical approach could be a step too far, because it makes them almost completely reliant on internet connectivity.

This can be patchy, particularly in rural areas.

Another potential concern is the reliability of the cloud service provider, so businesses need to keep their eyes wide open, IT consultant Adrian Mars argues.

When you entrust your data to a third party, you have to be comfortable with certain risks, he says. For example, online services may not always be available due to unforeseen problems with the service provider.

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