#enterprise-it

#enterprise-it

Free support for Windows 10 ends on October 14, 2025, leaving unpatched devices exposed. We answer the key questions every IT professional must consider, from Windows 11 hardware requirements and upgrade costs to the risks of staying behind. Microsoft will sunset free support and security updates for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025. The company has put forth some basic recommendations in its Windows 11 transition guide: Back up your files, prepare your devices, and get familiar with what the new OS has to offer. But with the clock ticking, enterprise security and IT teams have bigger tasks to tackle. They must determine soon whether remaining Windows 10 machines should (or can) be updated or upgraded now, or if it makes sense to pay for a year (or more) of extended support.

Shortly after Reuters broke the news that Meta, the company behind Facebook and Instagram, had signed a $10 billion, multiyear cloud deal with Google, a CIO friend called me with some questions: "David, should we be doing something like this? Are these mega prepurchase cloud agreements the new table stakes for enterprises?" The question is as pressing as it is complex. My answer, shaped by years of watching and guiding digital transformation, may not be what cloud vendors want you to hear.