Microsoft has put an end to supporting Windows XP on April 8, this year. However, more than half of the companies in the US are still running the said operating system according to the new research conducted by Adaptiva. A quarter of the respondents said that security was their primary concern, while 15 percent chose to purchase custom support from Microsoft to ensure that their computer systems will remain safe at all times.

There are several hindrances on why some users still haven’t upgraded their operating systems yet. 29 percent would say that software/hardware compatibility is a big problem, while 15 percent said that they don’t find the time to do so. Another reasons may include the upgrading cost as well as the incapability to adapt with the new user interface.

“Eighty percent of those surveyed were running Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) in their organization. The greatest challenge holding companies back from automating OS migration is getting the task sequence right (31%), followed by the deployment of PXE servers in remote locations (28%). Twenty-seven percent considered WAN bandwidth their biggest obstacle, while 19% pointed to lack of storage at remote locations,” Adaptiva said.

Windows XP is still powering a fourth of the desktop computers around the world, with figures expected to drop in the coming months as more companies complete the move to a new operating system.

Microsoft did advised XP user to make the transition long before they discontinued their support for the operating system. Now that they no longer provide platform and security updates for Windows XP, users are left with no other options but to upgrade their systems.

For now, Microsoft is offering new operating systems like Windows 7 and Windows 8.1. The latter OS has an entirely new yet intuitive environment, allowing users to adapt more easily from the old Windows environment.