Sometimes upgrading to the newest technology right away is not a good idea. There may still be quite a few bugs to work out before the system is useful and fully functional. When Windows 10 came out in the summer of 2015, it had its fair share of hiccups as well.
The operating system was offered completely free for many Windows users for roughly a year. The rationale behind the offering was likely because it is easier to create just one version of software when everyone is operating off of the same operating system. That, in turn, means Microsoft can develop better and faster applications that work well together.
But, not everyone took advantage of the free upgrade when it was available for a variety of reasons. In some situations, the hardware being used simply was not able to handle Windows 10 when it was offered. As Canadian businesses are upgrading their technology, they are now in a better position to make a move from Windows 7 to Windows 10—but should they?
The Benefits of Making the Switch to Windows 10
“Switching to a new OS does not always have great benefits. However, Windows 10 offers some unique features and developments that are extremely useful to Canadian businesses,” claims Toronto IT specialist, Swinburne Charles from Checksum Systems.
Stopping Support for Windows 7 as of January 2020
“Perhaps the most crucial reason to make a switch is that Microsoft is ending its support for Windows 7 in January of 2020. Without support and regular upgrades, systems may be more susceptible to hackers.” states Charles.
Specifically, any unknown holes in Windows 7’s security that were not addressed before service stopped will not be corrected as new hackers find them. This is a relatively common strategy for hackers when a system has reached its end of life (“EOL”).
Additional Safety Benefits of Windows 10
Scott Gallupe, who specializes in engineering IT services out of Calgary shares, “a lot of the benefits of making the switch also have to with safety, which is a big focus for Windows 10.”
Gallupe shares a few of the important features of Windows 10:
- Windows Defender Exploit Guard: This tool scans and removes malware. It protects from ransomware as well. In addition, it can also stop zero-day attacks and block malicious programs so that they do not spread on the organization or corporate networks. This protection is simply better than anything that was offered under Windows 7.
- Ransomware Mitigation: Windows 10 includes a feature that decreases the likelihood that ransomware will spread user data to servers. It works to contain that data on the computer itself. Windows 7 is more vulnerable to ransomware.
- Windows Defender Application Guard: This feature provides safer web browsing. It is available on Windows Pro and Enterprise, which is more commonly used by Canadian businesses. It restricts the data acquired to one computer when an employee or worker is using the Edge browser, which decreases the likelihood that malicious software will spread throughout a company.
Faster Setup/Deployment
Another key benefit is that setup and development on Windows 10 is much more streamlined. It is based on the cloud. That means that a worker can get a new machine, connect it to the organization’s network, and automatically configure it to a business’s settings. There are no additional steps required, and it is much faster—and safer. This feature is referred to as “Autopilot.”
Syncing Between Computers
With a huge increase of working from home or any other location, being able to shift from a home office to a physical office location is becoming more and more important. Instead of having employees lug their laptops back and forth, Windows 10 makes it easy to shift from a home computer to a work computer.
Windows 10’s Timeline feature will save a “snapshot” of the applications in use. Then, users can continue working where they left off. The snapshot syncs across a user’s various Windows 10 computers. That means that employees can start a project at the office and then pick up right where they left off at home, or vice versa.
A Few Reasons Not to Upgrade to Windows 10
Gallupe and Charles also share that making the switch to Windows 10 is a good idea for a lot of businesses, there are some situations where making this upgrade may not be a good idea.
- First, upgrade the necessary hardware
Windows 10 needs at least 20GB of hardware space to install the 64-bit version. It also requires a 1GHz or faster processor, 2GB of RAM, and DirectX 9-capable video card with a WDDM driver. Users may need to upgrade their hardware before making the switch.
- Forced to install updates
Windows 10 installs updates automatically to a user’s computer. There are a few ways around the updates, but the default is to automatically download new patches.
- Continue using Windows Media Center
Windows 10 has discontinued Windows Media Center. It has also suspended the Windows Photo Viewer as a default. Users can, however, get Windows Photo Viewer back, but Windows Media Center will not be coming back