Dutch government signs multi-million euro deal with Microsoft for extended Windows XP support

The Dutch government has signed a multi-million euro deal with software giant Microsoft for continued support for the departing Windows XP OS, according to Dutch website Webwereld.   Between 34,000 and 40,000 Dutch government systems still employ Windows XP, even though Microsoft is officially ending its support for the programme tomorrow. World over, **banking organisations are already scrambling to get ATMS** and other key systems upgraded in light of the deadline.   The Dutch government will be making the transition to a more modern OS only next January and the report says that two out of five local councils in The Netherlands still use XP. Unfortunately, the government’s this deal does not cover them, another Netherlands news outlet DutchNews said.   Microsoft is stopping providing technical support for XP from tomorrow, April 8, which **leaves a lot of systems vulnerable to attacks** . Webwereld says the Redmond company normally charges around $200 per PC for its extended support services, but the high cost has not deterred governments who are coming to terms with the departure of the 13-year-old OS, known to be one of the most favoured in the world.   Earlier, the British government signed a deal which reportedly cost 7 million euros to extend Microsoft’s support for around 20,000 government computers. So the Dutch government would have had to pay a lot more considering the total number, which far exceeds UK government’s total.