[AccessD] Future of Windows XP

All,

I work part time for a small manufacturing firm (about 50 employees)
with a very limited IT budget.

Currently there are about 20 older PCs running Windows XP (SP3).  There
are two purchased application systems and a number of Access 2007
applications.

It is my understanding that Microsoft is dropping all support (including
security updates) for XP in April of 2014.

My background is primarily in application development and database
administration.  In the past, I have relied on fellow employees for
"Operating System issues".

I have some dumb questions.

How serious is the issue of Microsoft dropping all support for XP next
April?

What are most firms migrating to?  Win-7?  Win-8?

I would guess that either Win-7 or Win-8 will need more horsepower than
XP and neither will run very well on older PCs.  True?

Will Access 2007 applications run Okay with either Win-7 or Win-8?

Thanks,
Brad