Microsoft Windows EOL Support

In April 2014, after more than a decade of powering many of the world’s computers, Microsoft ended their support of Windows XP and Office 2003. This was followed in July 2015 when Microsoft ended their support of Windows Server 2003. Microsoft have also announced that on 11th April 2017 they will be ending their support of Windows Vista and Windows 2008 (without SP2).

Over the last few months IRIS has held discussions with many practices and it’s clear the number of practices using these platforms has reduced markedly and most have plans in place to migrate to other platforms prior to Microsoft’s April 2017 deadline.

Continuing to use unsupported platforms represents a significant risk to your IT infrastructure. It means a potentially more vulnerable IT environment as security patches will no longer be issued by Microsoft and your data could be an easier target for hackers and malware creators. They could target older Windows platforms knowing that any system issue or vulnerability that is exploited will not be ﬁxed.

At IRIS we are keen to ensure our customers continue to enjoy the benefits of the IRIS product portfolio in a safe environment. For this reason we felt it important to update you on our approach to Microsoft’s announcement.

IRIS will:-

Continue to allow installation of and support our products on all these platforms until our Autumn 2017 release scheduled for October 2017.
From our Autumn 2017 release IRIS will no longer install or function on any workstation that is using Windows XP, Windows Vista or any servers that are running Windows Server 2003 or Windows 2008.
From our Autumn 2017 it will be necessary to install .NET 4.6. It is unlikely .NET 4.6 will install on Windows 2008 or Windows Vista. As a result IRIS may install successfully but we cannot guarantee that the application will continue to function correctly.
Beyond April 2017 customers will be required to upgrade to a supported platform (ie Windows 10) if they discover a problem with the software.

Upgrading your operating system presents significant benefits beyond keeping you supported. New features offer greater flexibility and increased efficiency with improved PC security and management. You’ll also be able to take advantage of latest technology trends such as virtualization and have access to the latest internet browsers for your cloud applications.

We appreciate that some customers may face challenges in upgrading to a supported platform (ie Windows 10). If this is the case there are other solutions in the IRIS portfolio that could be the answer. These include IRIS OpenHosting and our range of cloud applications.

IRIS OpenHosting delivers all the IRIS Accountancy Suite products, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Exchange for email and other desktop applications as a managed service over the internet. A cost-effective, secure & scalable solution for your IT management needs.

The range of IRIS cloud based compliance solutions include:

IRIS OpenTax the UKs first professional cloud based tax software allowing accountants to create personal, partnership and corporation tax returns
IRIS OpenAudit the UKs first cloud based audit solution combining all the cost-savings and environmental benefits of a paperless audit solution with the convenience, accessibility and resilience of cloud technology
IRIS OpenPayroll, cloud based UK RTI compliant payroll software that helps you process payroll quickly, securely, and automatically files your RTI submissions online
IRIS OpenPayslips for delivering cloud based digital payslips enabling employees to access, and download their payslips via an online portal or their smartphones

With our commitment to customer satisfaction we felt it was important to outline our position regarding Windows Vista. To discuss the IRIS response to the Microsoft announcement please contact us at support@iris.co.uk.