https://www.xperience-group.com/news-item/windows-11/
David Bullock, one of our IT experts, joined us to give an update on Windows 11, the hardware needed to run it, and what his recommendations are.
Microsoft said a few years ago that Windows 10 would be the last OS from them however as we know, Windows 11 arrived on 5th October 2021. Unlike the earlier Windows 10 upgrade offer that felt impossible to avoid, Microsoft is not encouraging everyone to upgrade this time. In fact, even Microsoft is recommending that a lot of PC or laptop owners do not upgrade currently. Here’s everything you need to know–
Windows 11 will be a free upgrade for PCs or laptops running Windows 10 – just as Windows 10 was a free upgrade for machines running Windows 7 and Windows 8.
Unfortunately, this time around, Windows 11 has not been designed for older PC and laptop models. Microsoft has officially limited Windows 11 to only certain relatively recent hardware and software. Specifically, PCs and laptops with Intel processors must have at least an Intel 8th generation or newer processor and AMD processor equipped PCs and laptops should be running at least AMD Zen 2 feature set.
Microsoft has not explained why only these newer Intel and AMD processors are supported.
In summary, especially for Xperience’s line-of-business applications, I would recommend against upgrading to Windows 11 for the following reasons:
It’s worth noting that Windows 10 is due to be supported for another few years, the official end of life date is October 2025, this will give you plenty of time to get prepared and be running your business on the latest PC or laptop hardware. However, I would recommend updating prior to this date or you may leave your business open to vulnerabilities.
Windows 11 may just feel like Windows 10 with a fresh coat of paint – however, compared with Windows 10, there seems to be a few missing features or changes to the operating system that may affect certain workflows. For example, at this moment in time, the Windows 11 taskbar is fixed to the bottom of the screen, and you can’t drag and drop files and other items to taskbar icons – as was possible on Windows 10, this was then made available in a later update to Windows 11. It might be best to wait until Microsoft have ironed out any initial teething problems with Windows 11.
As Windows 11 is still very new to the market it may be possible that some of the applications and hardware you are currently using within your business may not be compatible with Windows 11 until drivers are updated by the third-party provider. If these are business-critical and you need them to work, you may want to hold off on the upgrade, even if your current PC or Laptop has the technical spec to support Windows 11.
Are you still running Windows 7?
Windows 7 became end of life as of the 14th of January 2020, which means that Microsoft no longer supports any Windows 7 devices. Of course, this operating system still runs but it does mean that you are no longer getting any of the latest patches, updates or security enhancements. By not upgrading to at least Windows 10 you are leaving holes in your business and vulnerabilities for anyone with the technical know-how (hackers) to access your business-critical information. It is business-critical at this point to make sure you are no longer on Windows 7, so if you have a suspicion that some of your devices are, then reach out to us and we can discuss what your options are.
For more advice around Microsoft and Windows updates, please reach out to our IT Services team –
