End-of-Life Software: 3 Risks of Unsupported Programs

Software applications can only be as reliable as the maintenance they receive. In other words, only a very brief (if any) period of viability exists for a program that’s not being properly and regularly maintained.

In the final quarter of 2025, Windows 10 reached its end of support. Below, we discuss what that means for its user base and the implications of continuing to use a program that’s no longer receiving developer attention.

Understanding the Software Lifecycle

All software has a lifecycle: It gets developed, released, updated, and eventually abandoned completely for a newer version. Generally speaking, the software development lifecycle unfolds in seven distinct stages:

1. Planning
2. Requirements analysis
3. Design
4. Coding
5. Testing
6. Deployment
7. Maintenance

Despite the specific development activities that occur during each of the above steps, the process covers an application’s entire “life” from idea conception to its ultimate retirement. The span of the entire lifecycle can vary from months to decades.

Defining “End-of-Life” Software

Technically, there’s nothing to stop you from using software that has been deemed obsolete. For example, your team may or may not care if you have access to new features. 

But this is only the tip of the iceberg. When software reaches the end of its life, the original developers are no longer performing ongoing maintenance on the application. Developers won’t execute any further technical assistance—either because they’ve moved on to a newer version or built an entirely new solution. 

The Biggest Risks of Running Unsupported Programs

The bottom line: If your version of Microsoft Office is no longer supported, you’re putting your business at risk. The most significant implications include:

Incompatibility & Lack of Scalability

This includes incompatibility with partners and customers that have already adopted the newer software and incompatibility within your own office or shop. Failure to integrate with new tools and applications will leave your business stuck in its current place, unable to scale or adopt more powerful software, thus rendering it incapable of growth. 

This accumulation of technical debt doesn’t just impact the future of your business; it’s affecting your budget right now. As the amount of qualified talent for unsupported software dwindles, the cost for keeping these professionals on staff will only rise. Therefore, effectively maintaining and securing antiquated programs becomes increasingly costly. 

Security Vulnerabilities & Compliance Gaps

Additionally, with no further updates or bug fixes in the pipeline, your business increases its risk from a security perspective. When developers no longer perform these critical updates, your system is essentially left wide open for attackers because efforts are no longer being made to keep the interface secure. 

Naturally, as software evolves, so do malicious actors, swiftly adapting to new security protocols and measures that developers design to discourage attacks. With developer attention on new applications, the unsupported software is unmonitored and thus unsecured, enabling exploitation by attackers. 

Running outdated programs also tends to open up gaps in regulatory compliance because many regulations call for the use of modern, supported tech. Businesses that don’t comply risk facing penalties, including failed audits and fines, for violations.

Data Loss & Disruption

With these security vulnerabilities inevitably come unpatched exploits, which open up your company’s data to theft and corruption by establishing known entry points for attacks. Again, end-of-life software is an easy target for hackers, who gain the ability to seize—and thus encrypt—valuable data in exchange for ransom when patches aren’t applied.

Furthermore, running on outdated software only accrues performance issues. Lack of optimization for new solutions results in frequent crashes and unnecessary workarounds, resulting in data loss and overall database instability—not to mention poor user experience. Again, the diminishing pool of talent capable of alleviating these technical issues and providing on-demand help desk services only makes matters more dire.

Mitigating End-of-Life Software Risks

Some strategies for minimizing the above risks include:

• Identification: Start by identifying all dependencies and clearly mapping out your system to create a phased mitigation plan.
• Replacement: Upgrade your IT environment by migrating to a more modern and sustainable operating system. Some businesses may need to consider a full rebuild of their office network.
• Isolation/containerization: If you must run legacy applications, do so in an isolated environment that’s separate from the main network. 
• Third-party support: Secure specialized vendor support to keep track of your software lifecycles and manage ongoing updates.

Because technology is evolving so quickly, modern software solutions are designed for scalability; they tend to be modular, cloud-native, and based on iterative development. These qualities ensure that the application’s users can reliably accommodate the rapid pace of technological advancement.

Optimizing the Software Lifecycle for Sustainability

Regrettably, the lifecycle of a software application isn’t easily estimated or measured; there’s no specific timeline for when a solution will no longer be supported. However, there are ways to offset this uncertainty while still optimizing business performance. 

Keeping your operating system up to date and running smoothly isn’t a simple task, but you can simplify the upkeep by partnering with a managed service provider that truly understands your business’s technology needs. To discuss your IT challenges and how Ntiva can address them, reach out to our team for a consultation.