When is Windows 10 End of Life? And why does it matter to my business?
We first wrote about this back in 2024, when we gave you a one year warning (check it out here). Microsoft Windows 10 will be the grand old age of 10 on July 15th 2025 and Software that is 10 years old in technology terms is absolutely ancient! Shortly after it’s tenth birthday, Microsoft will stop supporting the Operating System and only Windows 11 will be available with support (and updates).
The official end of life date of Microsoft Windows 10 is 14th October 2025. There are only 4 more months until the official end of support date for the Operating System (which is usually referred to as it’s “end-of-life” date, because as a business tool, it will stop being updated, which means it will become less secure.
Why does Windows 10 end of life matter to my business? Will my computer stop working?
Once the Windows 10 Operating System reaches end-of-life on October 14th 2025, as mentioned briefly above, Microsoft will no longer be issuing updates to patch problems with the Operating System. What this means is that over time, the Operating System will become less and less reliable and less and less secure. Whilst it will still ‘work’, at least for a time, all technology sources are aligned – it’s not a good idea to keep running software in a business, that has passed it’s end-of-life date. It’s simply too much of a risk. Indeed the Information Commissioner’s Office advice on the matter is that businesses should always be running up-to date Operating System Software. Added to this, without up-to date software, your business won’t be able to obtain Cyber Essentials and Other security related certifications.
What if I still have some Windows 10 devices?
If you still have Windows 10 devices in your business, don’t worry, there’s still time to solve your problem. The first thing you should do, is talk to your IT Team (either internal or external) about your options. In terms of Operating Systems, Microsoft Windows 11 is currently the only Microsoft choice available to users. However, Windows 11 is not compatible with all of the PCs and Laptops out there, so for some users, the only choice is to replace the devices. Of course, you could also look to change to Apple devices or even Open Source Operating Systems, such as Linux. However, we are very much a Microsoft House and so our recommendation is to upgrade to Windows 11 as soon as you can. For those machines that CAN support Windows 11, you should ask your IT Team whether there are any licensing implications to upgrading, or whether it’s just simply a case of “doing it”. Some PCs will have the necessary license available with no additional cost (unless they are charging labour for their time to upgrade, which would be a fair assumption).
For those machines that CAN’T support the upgrade, then the only realistic option is to replace the devices. But what if you can’t afford it? The simplest solution would be to lease the equipment, meaning that you spread the payments over a number of months or years – find out more about IT Equipment Leasing by following the link. There are other alternatives, such as buying recycled IT equipment, or if you are a charity, asking for donations or funding from corporate bodies. If you need help with any of this, and you don’t have access to an IT Team, you can Book an Appointment with us and we’ll be happy to talk through your options.
In case you want to check your own PC or Laptop to find out whether it can be upgraded, you can use Microsoft’s PC Health Check tool.
What’s the next Operating System after Windows 11?
We are expecting Microsoft to announce soon that it’s latest Operating System will be called Windows 12. Although, they have surprised us before, so don’t count on it. We are currently expecting them to announce this somewhere around the Windows 10 end-of-life date. So October or November 2025 in our opinion.
Windows 10 End of Life Summary
As things stand, businesses have just over 4 months left to get their upgrades or replacements done. For our own IT Support customers, they have been receiving Hardware Reports every months for over 3 years now, with a simple traffic light system showing which need to be replaced and which can be upgraded. Many of them have also been talking to us about their IT Roadmap, which sets out what needs to be done over the next 4 years – not just for Windows 10 end of life, but across their IT estate. For those of you that don’t have IT Support with us, our current advice is to replace 25% of the Windows 10 devices that can’t be upgraded, each month, meaning that in 4 months, you will have covered all of the devices off and you won’t be scrabbling around at the last minute trying to get back in the game!
OK, so we’ve told you all about Windows 10 end of life. So what are you waiting for? Crack on and get a plan in place as soon as you can for your business. Ask your current IT Support Provider to supply you with a Hardware Report that sets out which devices can be upgraded and which ones need to be replaced, so that you can make an investment plan to work towards. There’s no hiding from this, it absolutely needs to happen in every single business. The countdown is on, there are currently 17 weeks, 5 days and 22 hours (at the time or writing) until your business is uncompliant! Don’t be one of the businesses that gets left behind on this important task!
If your current provider isn’t able to provide you with a report, ask them why! And if you don’t get the answer you like, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us and we’ll work with you to do it on behalf of your business. Drop us a message via our Contact page or give us a call today on 0330 2020101!
