It’s been over a decade since Windows 7 was released, but many companies are still clinging on to the dated operating system (OS) despite its rapidly impending retirement on January 14, 2020. Given the popularity of Windows 7, Microsoft has decided to continue supporting it for three more years, but that support comes at a substantial cost.

With just a few more months to go before Windows 7 reaches the end of its extended support life cycle, it’s time for businesses to get serious about upgrading. For most organizations, the most obvious solution is to upgrade to Windows 10. However, other options exist too, like changing over to an entirely different operating system, such as Linux or MacOS. It’s also possible to continue receiving critical security updates for Windows 7 for up to three more years by joining Microsoft’s Extended Security Updates program.

All software products come with a limited support life cycle, which is typically stated as soon as it’s initially released. Software as complex as the Windows operating systems tend to have more generous life cycles, not least because it costs a lot of time and money for businesses to upgrade regularly.

As organizations across every industry sector become more reliant on modern technologies, IT budgets are going through the roof. According to a recent study by Deloitte, the average spending across all industries stands at 3.28% of revenue, with the biggest spenders being the finance and professional services sectors.