Banks Paying Microsoft Millions in Support Costs For Refusing To Upgrade ATMs Running Windows X
Banks around the world will miss a deadline to upgrade outdated software for automated teller machines (ATMs) and face additional costs to Microsoft to keep them secure._ The Redmond software giant first warned that it was planning to end support for Windows XP in 2007, but only one-third of the world’s 2.2 million ATMs which use the system will have been upgraded to a new platform, such as Windows 7 by the April deadline, according to NCR, one of the biggest ATM makers. To ensure the machines are protected against viruses and hackers many banks have agreed deals with Microsoft to continue supporting their ATMs until they are upgraded, extra costs and negotiations that were avoidable but are now likely to be a distraction for bank executives. “There are certainly large enterprise customers who haven’t finished their migrations yet and are purchasing custom support,” a spokesman for Microsoft said, declining to name those customers or to quantify the extra revenue it is earning. “The cost will depend on both the...http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/msftnws/~4/Jo-ptMNNXzQ
