Windows Vista’s lifecycle comes to an end on April 11, 2017. This date is the end of extended support and end of life.¹ We strongly recommend that you upgrade or replace any personal and business Windows Vista machines to Windows 10.

Mainstream support for Vista ended in April 2012. Mainstream support includes requests to change product design and features, non-security updates, and complimentary support. Extended support for Vista ends on April 11, 2017, which means there will no longer be security updates, any non-security updates, and paid support available.²

With no available updates (complimentary or paid), continuing to use Windows Vista after April 2017 could open you up to potential security risks.

1 https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/13853/windows-lifecycle-fact-sheet
2 https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/14085

Mainstream support ended for Windows 7 in January 2015, and extended support will end in January 2020. Windows 8 does not reach the end of mainstream support until January 2018, and Windows 10 in 2020.

The turn of a new year gives us an opportunity to reflect on the past and find opportunities for improvement. While many New Year’s resolutions are about bettering ourselves, we often forget that there’s also room for improvement at the office.

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The primary goal for many organizations is to keep costs down, and one of the first places they look to cut costs is the technology department. But choosing between a managed services model and break-fix IT model isn’t as straightforward as you may think. There are a few key questions you should ask yourself:

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Cutting costs is the primary goal for most business owners. They’ll scour their books looking for areas that offer a little wiggle room and decide what’s important and what’s a luxury. The reality is, due to lack of time or expertise, nearly every business has hidden savings within their IT. Here are four major steps you can take to make better technology decisions that improve your bottom line.

#1 – Keep a Watchful Eye on Your Network

Proactively monitoring a network’s device data lets you identify abnormal activity in real time, giving you the ability to act before small hiccups snowball into large problems. Plus, it reduces downtime and investigation time, saving you time and money when problems do occur.

#2 – Look at Downtime Differently

You can spend thousands to protect your company, but no form of technology is completely fool-proof. All businesses experience some form of downtime. The reason companies pay so much for networks isn’t to ensure they’re up 99.9 percent of the time but to make sure the .1 percent they’re not available doesn’t bring your operation to a screeching halt. What does your businesses continuity plan look like? How long can you be down? How will you access your data if your servers crash? Will your business survive? Preventing downtime is important but having an action plan that kicks in when downtime takes place is imperative.

#3 – Prepare for Growth

The biggest costs that often get overlooked are in predicting the pace of business and change. Growth is the reason you’re in business, but it’s tough to anticipate costs when it happens fast. You need scalable, flexible technology solutions. Look to the cloud to meet your currents needs with the ability to scale up or down while also removing the costs of increasing physical hardware and software licensing.

#4 – Ask Questions First

Advice from a professional is the best way to ensure you don’t overspend on IT. Too many businesses jump into making hasty, uniformed decisions about technology investments and network infrastructures and end up paying too much. By talking with a managed service provider like us, you get all the facts and understand the cost associated with each potential decision.

Technology is essential for your success, but you have a lot of balls in the air, so it often takes a backseat or doesn’t get the right focus—leading to costly decisions. Now’s the perfect time to get some expert advice. Through September 30, get a free, no-obligation IT cost reduction assessment. We’ll take a look at your current situation, make recommendations on where you can save and offer affordable options for the future. If we can’t save you money, we’ll give you $100. We’re here to help.