Time is ticking…only a few weeks until the inevitable. As I’m sure you’ve heard, read, and read some more Microsoft will end support of Windows 7 on January 14, 2020. This is not something you can escape from. Sure you can pay for extended support for three more years, but guess what? You’ll be back in the same boat of needing to upgrade from Windows 7 just like you are now, except you spent a lot of unnecessary money for that extended support when you could have just upgraded all along.

I know what you’re thinking and you’re not alone. Many agencies list the five reasons below as to why they can’t, won’t, and don’t want to upgrade to Windows 10. So, let’s debunk them!

1.   Cost

Upgrading anything is often thought of as costly, time consuming, and difficult to integrate and sure sometimes it is. Yet, the easiest upgrade path is a hardware refresh, this is especially true if your devices are 5+ years and older. That sounds crazy, but the costs associated with using outdated hardware are far more than a refresh. And if you don’t believe that according to CIO, after about five years most companies will have spent more on software maintenance than they will have originally paid for the software.

As mentioned earlier, yes you can pay for Microsoft’s extended support for the next three years, but it won’t be cheap. As an upfront cost you may think this will be a cheaper option but in the long run those costs will catch up to you and paying for a hardware refresh doesn’t seem like such a bad option now. Not to mention, after those three years are up you will have to upgrade still.

The extended security update (ESU) pricing for Windows Pro users goes from $50 per device (first year) to $200 per device (third year). For Windows Enterprise users, the pricing goes from $25 per device (first year) to $100 per device (third year). 

2. Time

Time always seems to come up as a reason anyone or any agency doesn’t do something, but where is all your time going? According to Techaisle, the time lost waiting for slow startups and logins, loading pages, downloads, maintenance and updates, and workarounds results in 42 hours of lost time a year.  This doesn’t include time lost due to a successful hack or breach on your unsupported systems, which could take months or years to recover from! IBM found that the average life cycle of a breach was 314 days from the breach to containment. Now you’ve lost a lot of productive work hours. But, hey now you know where all your time is going, right.

3. Resources and Knowledge

If you’re thinking “We don’t know where to start?” You should begin by putting together a deployment plan and then executing it…or contact a managed service provider (MSP) who will save you a headache and do all of this for you. Another option is to replace all your old hardware with new hardware, complete with Windows 10 already installed.

4. Laggards to Tech Adoption

Insurance is a naturally slow changing industry, especially when it comes to new technology. New technology can be unpredictable and inconsistent; two characteristics that do not bode well in the terms of insurance. Being a laggard to new technology helps mitigate any risks associated with it. By letting others give the shiny, new products a go around first those innovators will test it out, deal with the problems and risks and once all is figured out then insurance professionals can decide to adopt or not. However, by the time they are ready to decide it is often too late. Technology moves fast and it will be pertinent for insurance to keep up. Consumers don’t just want digitization, they expect it. Using outdated technology wards off customers, employees, and in turn your profit. In a study from Microsoft, 90% of consumers would consider taking their business elsewhere rather than work with a company using outdated technology. Why? Because when you think of your target age group for insurance buyers right now and those generations to come what do you think they expect in terms of technology used by companies they are handing their personal identifying information (PII) too?

*Hint: It’s not Windows 7

See also: Why Insurance Lags Behind Other Industries With the Integration of New Tech

5. Legacy Software and Infrastructure

Legacy software raises some concern over compatibility issues with Windows 10, just as it does with Windows 7. In June of last year, Microsoft dropped Windows 7 support on some outdated CPUs, meaning it’s past time to upgrade your hardware if that impacted you. Running a machine that was designed for Windows 7 is at least seven years old or in a computer lifespan that’s about 70 years! However, there is still hope for some of those older programs to run on Windows 10. Compatibility Mode on Windows 10 is an easy to access tool that can help some of that legacy software run on the new operating system (OS). This tool allows for programs to operate as if they would on an earlier version of Windows. Although this tool is helpful, it will not work for all legacy software and programs.

If you still need a nudge on the urgency of upgrading to Windows 10 here’s four more motives that will hopefully spur you into action.

1. Ended Support

Without support you are leaving your network open to endless vulnerabilities that hackers will have a hay day exploiting. Especially since Windows is the biggest target for malware and bad actors are vastly familiar with Windows 7’s flaws you are running a huge risk by not upgrading. If you think you will receive support and patches elsewhere think again, as most third-party vendors will stop support to Windows 7 also.

2. Compliance Regulations

Since insurance is a heavily regulated industry you can expect to see hefty fines, loss of business, and loss of consumer trust by running an unsupported operating system. That sounds pretty risky for someone who doesn’t like risk.

3. Increased Productivity

(See reason #2 from earlier)

Straight forward, unless you enjoy wasting 42 hours of productive work time a year.

4. Better Security

No security is a very bad option when we are living in a world that experiences a cyber-attack every 39 seconds. It’s imperative that your systems are in good cyber-hygiene to protect and prevent hackers from accessing your data. Also, Windows 10 has security features that Windows 7 does not such as: Secure Boot, Device Guard, Microsoft Passport, and Windows Hello. Along with, ransomware protection and exploit/threat protection.

Time (that thing we mentioned earlier that no one seems to have anymore) is not on your side, but it’s still possible to upgrade by January 14, 2020.  Lucky for you, over here at Omega we created this video to help you with the upgrade:

If your hardware is five years and older, now is a good time to do a technology evaluation. Fortunately, we can help you with that also. When your insurance agency partners with an MSP, like Omega Computer Services, you get hardware refreshes every 3 years. Along with the new tech, you don’t have to worry about any install or set-up. And not only will technology refreshes keep your business at a much lower risk for security vulnerabilities, but your clients and employees will appreciate it too.