In our last blog, we discussed at length about how support for Windows 7 will be coming to an end on January 15th, 2020. We also took a look at several options afforded to businesses who have not yet made the switch, and we explained why — out of all available options — simply migrating everything to Windows 10 is ultimately your best choice if your company is still predominantly using Windows 7 machines. Today, we’re going to outline what steps to take in order to make the preparations your company needs for the transition. It’s not as bad as you may think, and we’re here to help you at every point.
Step 1: Take stock of everything.
Take an inventory of your current infrastructure and set a budget for making changes. You may want to upgrade only a handful of PCs and devices at a time in order to minimize the impact to productivity. Or, you may decide you don’t have the budget to upgrade everything all at once. We’ll help you determine what absolutely must be prioritized and can keep your Windows 10 devices running on a separate server from the Windows 7 machines.
Step 2: Back up everything.
Play it safe! You never know what sort of technical issues can arise during a major company-wide upgrade like this. The very last thing you want is to have critical files damaged or outright lost, should something go awry during the transfer process. There are plenty of cloud-based solutions for storing your files, as well as physical options. We can help you decide which is the best backup option for your needs.
Step 3: Upgrade everything.
Certain machines, components and other miscellaneous hardware may not be one hundred percent compatible with Windows 10. The older a component is, the greater the likelihood that it’s been depreciated by the manufacturer and is not officially supported by the operating system. In general, we recommend simply replacing the entire machine with a fully ready-to-go Windows 10 device. But if that’s not a feasible option for you, we can help you figure out the best hardware solutions and help you prioritize which components should be replaced.
Step 4: Train everyone.
This is a brand-new operating system. At its core, employees will interact with it in pretty much the same manner as Windows 7, but the layout, design, placement and shortcuts of many elements will be drastically different from what your employees will be used to. Indeed, at first glance, Windows 10 looks absolutely nothing like Windows 7. It will, however, become apparent rather quickly just how much more user-friendly it is, by comparison, after your staff has had some time to play around with it. However, that transition can still take additional time for some people, and in general, people don’t like change. It’s best to do everything you can to prepare your employees ahead of time so that productivity isn’t lost from wandering in unfamiliar terrain. If you require in-house training, we can assist with that as well.
If you would like more information on how to prepare your organization for the transition to Windows 10, Microsoft has published a very helpful deployment guide. It’s organized fairly well but can still be understandably intimidating. That’s why V2 Systems is here to help you every step of the way.
Since 1995, Manassas Park, VA-based V2 Systems has employed local systems administrators, network engineers, security consultants, help desk technicians and partnering companies to meet a wide range of clients’ IT needs, from research, to implementation, to maintenance. Concentrate on your VISION…We’ll handle the TECHNOLOGY!
