4920 Constellation Drive
White Bear Township, MN 55127-2218
help@chipscs.com | 651.407.8555
Schedule Now
Microsoft will no longer support many business apps in 2020 because they are reaching the end of their lifecycles. Find out which popular programs are reaching this point so you can plan any needed upgrades and adjust your 2020 IT budget accordingly.
Running into unanticipated expenses can blow a business’s IT budget. For this reason, it helps to know about business apps that are reaching the end of their lifecycles. When apps reach this point, the software developers typically stop providing security updates. Running programs that do not receive security updates puts companies at greater risk of cyberattacks.
Three popular Microsoft business apps — Office 2010, Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008 — are reaching the end of their lifecycles in 2020. Many other business apps are also facing the same fate. If your company is running any of these apps, it is a good idea to find out the upgrade options, select the best one for your situation, and adjust your 2020 budget accordingly.
Office 2010
After October 13, 2020, Microsoft will no longer support Office 2010 apps, no matter whether they were procured as part of an Office suite (e.g., Office 2010 Professional) or purchased individually. This means that popular business apps such as Outlook 2010, Word 2010, Excel 2010, and PowerPoint 2010 as well as lesser used apps like Access 2010, Publisher 2010, and OneNote 2010 will no longer receive security updates.
If you decide to upgrade, you have several options, with the main ones being:
Windows 7
All support for Windows 7 ends on January 14, 2020. Besides eliminating free security updates for this operating system, Microsoft will no longer provide them for Internet Explorer web browsers running on Windows 7 machines. That’s because Internet Explorer is considered an operating system component, so the browser follows the lifecycle of the operating system in which it is installed.
Assuming you do not want to switch to a different vendor’s operating system (e.g., Apple macOS), your options include:
Windows Server 2008
Companies rely on servers to perform crucial duties — referred to as roles — such as authenticating users, hosting applications, issuing public-key certificates, and storing files. Because servers carry out these roles, they need to be well secured — and not having security updates would make protecting them a difficult task. For this reason, you need to take action soon if your business is using Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 Release 2 (R2). On January 14, 2020, these server operating systems will reach the end of their lifecycles, which means they will no longer receive free security updates.
Microsoft recommends taking one of the following upgrade paths if your servers are running Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2:
The End Is Near for Many More Business Apps
Office 2010, Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008 are not the only business apps reaching the end of their lifecycles. Many other programs share the same fate. Table 1 lists some of the more notable ones.
We can assess your IT environment to see whether it is running any of the apps that will no longer be supported in 2020 as well as help you decide on the best upgrade option. Making plans now will ensure a smooth migration and help you keep on-budget in 2020.
Table 1: Some of the Business Apps That Microsoft Will No Longer Support in 2020
Business App | End-of-Support Date |
Exchange Server 2010 | January 14, 2020 |
FAST Search Server 2010 | October 13, 2020 |
Forefront Unified Access Gateway 2010 | April 14, 2020 |
Hyper-V Server 2008 | January 14, 2020 |
Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 | January 14, 2020 |
Office 2010 | October 13, 2020 |
Project 2010 | October 13, 2020 |
Search Server 2010 | October 13, 2020 |
SharePoint Server 2010 | October 13, 2020 |
System Center Service Manager 2010 | September 8, 2020 |
Visio 2010 | October 13, 2020 |
Windows 7 | January 14, 2020 |
Windows MultiPoint Server 2010 | July 14, 2020 |
Windows Server 2008 | January 14, 2020 |
Windows Server 2008 R2 | January 14, 2020 |
The App Store flickr photo by Glen Bledsoe shared under a Creative Commons (BY) license