July 22nd of this year marks the 10th anniversary of Windows 7. For years now, this older version of the Windows operating system has been a popular choice for personal and business users alike.

Microsoft has officially announced that as of January 14, 2020, it will no longer update the Windows 7 operating system.

If you currently use Windows 7, the news may raise questions about what this change means for you. This is especially the case for businesses that use Windows 7 for their day-to-day operations. One study showed that almost half (43%) of IT professionals said their company is still running Windows 7, and that 12% of businesses were not aware of the end of support for Windows 7.  

Luckily, there is still some time before Windows 7 officially reaches its end of life, and there are steps you can take now to better prepare.

The age-old technology refresh cycle—you invest in new equipment, only to be forced to replace it a few years later when it reaches the end of its life. Servers can be one of the most frustrating items to replace, since they are so critical to business operations.

 As you migrate more of your business infrastructure over to a cloud-based environment, the question of whether to replace on-premise servers inevitably comes up. Many companies reason that keeping their servers operational is still necessary even after migrating to a cloud solution. However, there are many benefits to consider when deciding to move to a serverless office. In fact, Gartner says that by 2020, a corporate 'no cloud' policy will be as rare as a 'no-internet' policy is today.

Every company that regularly uses business technology and office equipment eventually finds the need for maintenance and repairs. This is especially the case with office printers that operate in busy workplace settings.

In most businesses, printer operations are managed by internal IT staff who also manage office networks and user permissions. However, when significant printer issues arise, companies have the choice of using their in-house resources to manage the issues or outsourcing these services to a managed print firm.

Outsourcing office printer maintenance can be helpful for growing organizations looking to maximize their resource management. Here are three things to consider about outsourced printer maintenance that you need to know.