Earlier this week, I mentioned that customers have 1000 days until support for Windows XP ends on April 8, 2014. I know that Windows XP has been an amazing operating system for a lot of our business customers, so the idea of upgrading can seem like a daunting task. I want you to know that as the Windows XP lifecycle ends, Microsoft and our ecosystem of partners are committed to helping every customer seamlessly move to Windows 7 by providing the deployment tools and resources they need.

The Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) 2011 R2 will be generally available for download in August with several updates included. MDOP, along with other tools like the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) are great resources that we update regularly to make sure we’re offering the best tools possible to help customers deploy Windows 7.

Customers of all sizes and from a variety of industries are taking advantage of these resources and moving off Windows XP and onto Windows 7. I’d like to share a couple of their stories with you today to show you that it’s well worth the investment.

General Motors is nearly 100% complete with their global deployment of Windows 7 Enterprise with approximately 80,000 seats. As a company that’s all about being quick to market, they say moving from Windows XP, they now have they speed their employees need with Windows 7.

Galaxy Entertainment Group, a premier developer and operator of entertainment and resort facilities in Asia, decided it was time to refresh their Windows XP PCs. In May, they completed their roll out of Windows 7 Enterprise to 3,900 computers and are already benefiting from a standard platform as well as reduced power consumption from their new PCs.

It’s important to note a recent finding in Gartner’s report, Creating a Timeline for Deploying Windows 7 and Eliminating Windows XP - analysts predict that more than 50% of organizations that do not start deploying Windows 7 by early 2012 will not complete their deployments before Windows XP support ends, and will incur increased support costs.

We promise to continue to help you complete the move off of Windows XP so that no one has to experience higher support costs. We’ll continue to share new information about best practices, tools and other resources here on the Windows for Your Business blog, and you can always get the latest technical support information you need to help you with training, resources and free tools to help you move off Windows XP and quickly deploy Windows 7 at www.springboard.com.

As a reminder, Windows Vista SP1 reached end of support yesterday, July 12. Don’t forget to upgrade to Windows Vista SP2 or Windows 7 - check the Microsoft Download Center for the most recent service packs available.