What to know about transitioning to Windows 11

October 14, 2025, marks a line in the sand for Windows 10. From this date onwards, Microsoft will no longer provide support for the operating system. This doesn’t mean that Windows 10 will come to a grinding halt on October 14, it will still technically function. However, it does mean that Windows 10 will no longer receive software updates, technical support, or security patches; all of which are essential for maintaining a healthy and secure IT environment.

Microsoft announced the Windows 10 end-of-support date back in 2021, the same year it launched its successor, Windows 11. However, with less than six months left on the countdown, many companies have yet to make the transition. At the time of publishing, it’s estimated approximately 43.13% of Windows users are yet to make the leap.¹

Damian Wright, one of our Solutions Architects, has been hard at work to drive this number down. Helping businesses across Australia and the IT teams behind them, plan and carry out their transition. 

While the Windows 10 end-of-support has essentially left Microsoft devotees with little choice other than to upgrade, Damian maintains that Windows 11 brings a host of features well worth the switch, the first being better overall performance.

Damian explains: “When run on more recent hardware, Windows 11 delivers noticeably better performance and efficiency. Let’s say you have a newer laptop or PC and you’re running Windows 10 on it. Upgrading to Windows 11 will actually improve its speed and performance because it will now be able to use more advanced processes within the CPU, making it more efficient.”

Windows 11 also offers a marked improvement in multi-screen integration, a feature that has been lauded by Windows 11 converts.

“These days, a lot of people will work on two or three screens at the same time. Multi-screen integration used to be very flaky. You’d come back, plug your laptop into a dock, and the way you’d previously had it arranged is suddenly messed up. Now, you can do snap layouts where you can set pre-defined windows across your screens and maximise your screen space,” says Damian.

A seemingly simple improvement, Damian has seen firsthand the impact snap layouts have had on businesses’ productivity.

“Historically, our service desk has received a decent volume of tickets regarding multi-screen setups: Users thinking their screens aren’t working properly or wanting to know how they can improve their setup. Windows 11’s snap layout feature helps resolve a lot of these issues,” he says. 

Damian adds that in addition to benefitting multi-screeners, it’s also a gamechanger for tablet users.

“For people who use a touchscreen computer like a Microsoft Surface, it works far more smoothly now with Windows 11 because now you can use your finger to drag apps around and snap them into place. Previously, iPads offered a better experience for touch interactions, but Microsoft has closed that gap considerably.” he says. 

While speedier performance and snap screen layouts are certainly major drawcards of Windows 11, it’s the OS’s in-built AI capabilities that are generating the most excitement among new users.

“AI is a hot topic that people are interested in. Windows 11 gets all those new toys built into it, like Copilot, deeper integration with AI features, and AI-powered search. Many modern devices now include a Neural Processing Unit (NPU), which means that the computer can offload some of these AI tasks from the CPU or GPU to the NPU and ultimately what that means is that running AI queries won’t slow your computer down,” says Damian.

The inbuilt AI functionality within Windows 11 significantly improves search functionality, too. Damian explains: “Everyone knows that search functionality has always been pretty rubbish in computers, when you type in what you’re looking for and nothing relevant comes up. Microsoft are leveraging AI to improve that. By indexing the contents of your computer, you’ll get much more relevant search results back from your keywords.”

Evidently, there’s plenty of shiny new features making Windows 11 an attractive choice, but Damian insists that the most compelling reason is security, upgrading is an essential step in protecting your environment from cyber threats.

“From mid-October, Windows 10 will no longer receive security patches from Microsoft. Hackers may already have uncovered vulnerabilities and are simply waiting for support to lapse before striking,” says Damian.

“Just like supporting your immune system requires a layered approach: vaccinations, exercise, good diet, and good sleep. The health of your IT system requires the same,” he says.

“Keeping your operating system up to date doesn’t give you 100% protection, but it’s an important part of minimising the risks,” says Damian.

Discussing the options for organisations looking to beat the end-of-support date and upgrade, there’s a number of options available. 

“As a first port of call, if you aren’t sure what version you’re currently running on your machine, jump on Microsoft’s PC Health Check. This is a simple way to get all that essential information,” he says.

For those who do identify the need to upgrade, the next step is to confirm whether your current hardware is compatible with Windows 11.

“Windows 11 is a much more secure operating system. It requires certain hardware in your computer, e.g. a trusted platform module (TPM 2.0) chip, which is why some older computers can’t necessarily upgrade to Windows 11,” says Damian.

If your computer is compatible, there are a few different ways you can upgrade. Damian explains: “Option one is to buy a new computer, which is relatively inexpensive these days. Option two is to upgrade over the top of your existing one, though keep in mind that this migrates all your data history, settings, and inherits any problems you had on your previous OS. It’s also important to be aware that the upgrade can take 2-3 hours, which is quite time intensive”. 

For teams who intend to upgrade on their existing computers, Damian recommends organising this with a planned upgrade to minimise disruption across the business.

Whichever option you choose, the important part to remember is that there’s no single ‘best’ approach for upgrading.

“You need to choose the option that makes sense for your specific circumstances,” says Damian.

Sources

¹ Global Stats, StatCounter, 2025.