Australian users migrating from Windows XP faster than US, UK: report

Website analytics company StatCounter finds Australian user base is down to 7.8 per cent

The Australian user base for Windows XP is down to 7.8 per cent as users migrate to newer operating systems, according to new research by website analytics firm StatCounter.

As of January 2014, Windows 7 was the most popular desktop operating system in Australia with a 51.8 per cent share. This was followed by Mac OSX (20.5 per cent), Windows 8 (8.6 per cent), Windows XP (7.8 per cent) and Windows Vista (4.3 per cent).

According to the report, XP was the third most popular operating system in the United States with a 12.4 per cent share. In the United Kingdom, XP’s share was 9.5 per cent. XP was also still widely used in Asia (26.4 per cent), Africa (32 per cent), South America (18.6 per cent) and Europe (16.9 per cent).

StatCounter’s global statistics for January 2014, found that Windows 7 was the popular operating system worldwide with a 54.3 per cent share followed by XP (19.2 per cent).

Microsoft has urged companies to migrate off Windows XP before 8 April 2014 when support and patching ends. To help companies complete their migration after the deadline has passed, the vendor recently announced that the Malicious Software Removal Tool will be available for XP users up to 14 July 2015.

Commenting on the Australian results, StatCounter CEO Aodhan Cullen said that local users should be “complimented” for waving goodbye to XP.

“Its continued presence has serious implications for users, especially businesses, as lack of support may leave their data and systems at risk of exposure to security and virus issues," he said in a statement.

Microsoft Australia commercial product marketing manager Emmanuele Silanesu told Computerworld Australia last month that a full migration off XP can take up to six months, depending on the organisation’s size.

“Businesses will need to take into account the size of their employee base, the number of existing apps currently in use as well as the data that will need to be migrated. All these aspects can be roadblocks to the migration path and add time to the process,” he said at the time.

To help with the migration, Silanesu said that companies should develop a migration strategy budget as well as conduct hardware and software inventory.

Follow Hamish Barwick on Twitter: @HamishBarwick

Follow Computerworld Australia on Twitter: @ComputerworldAU, or take part in the Computerworld conversation on LinkedIn: Computerworld Australia

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