10 ways tech support has changed since the 1980s

Over the past 30 years, IT has seen some monumental changes -- and they've had a huge impact on the field of tech support. See if you remember the way it used to be.

In the mid-1980s, I was responsible for computer support (as we called it) at a university law library. We had about 20 PCs for the staff -- not everyone had one -- and another 10 for the newly developed computer lab. Since then, the number of computers (and users) that tech support deals with has increased by an order of magnitude. There are other changes as well. Computers have changed, users have changed, and the tech support environment has changed.

1: Support was task-bound

2: Support was time-bound

3: Support was location-bound

4: Networks developed and spread

5: Standardization increased

6: Open standards and open source software flourished

7: Updates over the Internet became possible

8: Users grew more knowledgeable and independent

9: Networks are becoming part of the infrastructure

10: Tech support is becoming part of the infrastructure

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OK, so stick with Windows XP: But how big a risk do you run?

Some organisations intend to keep using Windows XP even in the post-apocalyptic world after Microsoft ends support in 12 months. It’s a calculated risk and one they should weigh up carefully.

Even the spectre of security breaches and crashing apps is failing to convince some Windows XP-using organisations to abandon the OS before Microsoft cuts off support in a year’s time.

Recent figures from software consultancy Camwood suggest one in five companies using XP plan to stick with it despite the 8 April 2014 deadline, after which no new patches or bug fixes will be issued.

Those organisations may be taking a calculated risk and assume Windows XP’s longevity means major vulnerabilities have been identified and dealt with. But that assumption is misplaced, according to Rik Ferguson, global VP security research at Trend Micro.

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