Will your business survive the switch to Windows 11 in 2025?

If you are a business owner or run a company, then you understand that technology is an essential operating cost. Only by ensuring employees have access to the necessary hardware, software, and IT infrastructure, can they effectively execute daily deliverables. Technology also enables good customer service experiences, ensures production schedules are met, and effective operational management – almost everything in the modern business world has an IT component to it.

Surprisingly, often when businesses think about essential technology needed to run successful operations, they think of hardware. Laptops, servers, desktops, printers, and so forth are readily included into the annual budget. However, the importance and impact of software costs – especially upgrades – are often underestimated or overlooked.

Without the right or most up-to-date software, hardware simply can’t operate. While this may seem obvious, businesses are constantly caught by surprise when software purchases or updates are needed. There are several reasons for this, mainly because it is quite difficult to predict how much budget should be allocated towards software maintenance. Often the causes are a lack of planning and communication, as well as unclear lines of accountability across the company.

Global software spending on the rise

Rising software costs are also contributing to this budgeting challenge. According to Statista,  IT spending on enterprise software amounted to around 913 billion U.S. dollars worldwide last year, which indicates a growth of 12.4%. Depending on the industry a business operates in or the type of services the company provides, IT software expenditure increases even more.

Gartner predicts that Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) spending will grow to more than $232 billion in 2024. Over 80% of financial firms also planned to significantly increase their IT spending on software this year (Source: 2024 State of Accounting Firms Trends Report). The study also found that accounting firms are ‘showing a much greater commitment to technology investment this year’.

Where some software technology is purchased following an extensive approval process and approved budgeting plan, there are instances where companies have no say in the matter. One such example is Microsoft’s Windows 11 operating system that was released last year.

The dreaded blue Windows screen
Statistics show that Windows now accounts for seven out of every ten desktop operating systems (Source: Statcounter). The hurdle that Windows 11 poses to businesses still running Windows 10, which was two-thirds of users at the end of 2023, is that business computers need to meet specific hardware requirements to upgrade.

Supported processers are 8th-generation and newer Intel Core processors as well as AMD Ryzen 2000-series processors and newer. Technically what this means is that computers that contain processing chips produced before 2017-2018 can’t officially run Windows 11.

Understandably, this restriction creates many short and long-term problems for millions of businesses. An estimated 240 million Windows 10 PCs will be rendered useless when Microsoft stops support for Windows 10 on 14 October, 2025. This bleak picture for the public is even worse for the business world. Another survey projects that 400 million enterprise workstations running Windows 10 PCs can’t make the upgrade.

Imagine running an auditing firm, with a pressing and unmoveable submission deadline looming, and being caught by surprise when the entire company’s laptops stop working. Although an imagined scenario, this will be the reality for many financial and other firms next year who are unaware of the very fine print when it comes to software upgrades.

A window of opportunity for businesses

The Windows 11 debacle highlights two things: Having access to the latest software is a business imperative, and purchasing technology such as laptops can be a very costly decision when compared to a rental asset solution.

For RentWorks customers who have opted for a rental agreement, upgrading to Windows 11 doesn’t pose the threat to their businesses as it does to others. By simply upgrading their current laptops or desktops for newer models, RentWorks customers avoid the extensive capital investment and operational downtime that many other companies will experience who have purchased IT equipment.