It’s been 11 years since Windows XP launched, and the headlines from the day describe a totally different technology landscape. The casual office worker had no tablet and no smartphone. Social networking was largely done via IM (remember this sound?). And back then, the “cloud” was not a part of our regular vocabulary – it was just called the Internet. The notion of using these type of technologies for “real work” was a pipe dream.
Fast forward to today, and you’ll find that Microsoft has put together a “real work” solution fit for our times. Launched in January 2013, Windows 8 gives businesses of all sizes a modern technology toolkit that delivers the best possible productivity solution.
To help you sift through all the product benefits and features updates, I’ve put together a list of the features I feel will make the most difference to your organization.
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1. Windows To Go. Create a fully-functional Windows environment on a USB stick, which you can boot up from any computer.Awesome for temporary and contract workers because you can easily load the apps and tools they need to work with you from anywhere. |
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2. Direct Access. Give remote users easy access to resources inside a corporate network without having to launch a separate VPN, all while keeping everything secure and compliant. |
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3. The Interface. The most noticeable change, at least visibly, this OS is truly designed for the modern day worker. With the touch-focused UI and the hybrid desktop-touch approach, Windows 8 gives workers a fresh, faster way to get work done. |
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4. Faster Boot Up. Get up and going in around eight seconds, thanks to a new boot solution called Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI), which will kill once and for all painfully-long boot times. |
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5. Better Networking. Get support for several new network authentication types. For example, WISPr (Wireless Internet Services Provider roaming) protocol allows users to fluidly roam between Wi-Fi hotspots. (See 12 networking features of the OS here.) |
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6. App Deployment. Eliminate the hassles of business app deployments with Microsoft’s take on the app store distribution model. Makes delivering enterprise apps, on the fly, far more efficient and simple. |
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7. App Locker. Mitigate issues by specifying which users or groups can run particular applications in your organization based on unique identities of files. |
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8. Up to speed. Leverage all the security and efficiency improvements that are included in Windows 8, like Secured Boot, Windows Defender and SmartScreen. |
There are a lot of compelling reasons why organizations will benefit from a modern Windows 8 operating system. Yet more than two thirds of business machines are still running XP, an OS that will actually cease to be supported in less than 18 months, according to a Softchoice study.
While migrations can certainly be a pain, it’s important to start planning your migrations now before it’s too late. Fortunately, Softchoice can help. We have a team of experts ready to help you understand your options and uncover opportunities to efficiently roll out a migration plan.
Leave your questions or comments below, and someone from our team will answer you as soon as they can.