14 DAY TRIAL // The United States Army is one of the organizations that are yet to move off Windows XP, and according to a request for information, the 14-year-old operating system would continue to power their computers for another year.
Right now, the US Army has an ongoing contract with Microsoft to get custom support for Windows XP, but they're now looking for a third-party company that could continue patching the operating system for another year, obviously at a lower cost, for another 12 months.
Microsoft ended support for Windows XP in April 8, 2014, and at that point, several companies and organizations across the world decided to purchase custom support in order to keep their PCs fully patched and secure until they complete the migration to another operating system.
It's estimated that each company had to pay $200 (150 euros) for custom support per PC within the first year, while the price would double in the second year.
That's why the United States Army is now seeking a deal with a company that would provide patches for Windows XP for around 8,000 PCs still in use right now, estimating that the migration to a supported operating system would be completed in the next 12 months.
Only willing to pay for important updates
In the request published today, the US Army explains that the new deal would have to include free critical issues, as the agency only wants to pay for patches labeled as important.
“This procurement will ensure the Army has continued extended support to avoid security vulnerabilities on the existing licenses. The security updates for vulnerabilities rated 'critical' will be provided at no additional charge, but per hotfix, fees apply for security hotfixes rated ‘important.’ Non-security hotfixes are not available,” the request reads.
The United States Army, however, is not the only entity that's still using Windows XP right now, as the 14-year-old operating system still has a market share of around 18 percent in the desktop world.