If you've been waiting to swap out Windows XP for Windows 8, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) wants you to rethink your OS upgrade plans. Instead of waiting until the launch of Windows 8 in 2012, the software maker prefers that you "celebrate a decade of Windows XP" by switching to Windows 7 for now.

Support for Windows XP is scheduled to end after April 2014, meaning there will be no security patches or updates after that. Windows 8 is supposed to be out by the end of 2012, but that may not give companies using XP enough time to migrate, writes Microsoft's Rich Reynolds in a post on the company's blog. With the planning, testing and training needed to roll out an upgrade of this magnitude, it can take months if not a year.

"So, now is the time to accelerate your Windows 7 Enterprise deployments and consider an Office 2010 deployment at the same time. Moving to Windows 7 and Office 2010 will make your employees more productive and secure today and will get you ready for the future," Reynolds writes.

The cheerleading for Windows 7 notwithstanding, Microsoft may discover that a lot of companies aren't in a hurry to ditch XP, writes Lance Whitney at CNET. A survey within the last year revealed that about 50 percent of IT professionals expect to hold on to XP even after vendor support is terminated.

For more, see:
- Rich Reynolds's post at the Microsoft blog
- Lance Whitney's article at CNET

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