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Windows 10 Migration Delays: 39% Won't Meet January 14 Deadline

Rex McMillan

For IT professionals responsible for upgrading users to Windows 10, it's crunch time.

End of regular support for Windows 7 is nearly here (January 14, 2020) but as many as 59% say that only a portion of their users have been migrated to Windows 10. This is according to a new survey from Ivanti which includes responses from more than 500 IT professionals. Consider these key findings:

2 in 5 Organizations May be Writing a Big Check

Just 39% report that they have completed Windows 10 migration for all of their users. For those still migrating, 38% say they "almost" have 100% of their users on Windows 10, while 23% report that their users will be migrated by the Windows 7 end-of-life date. That leaves nearly two in five organizations (39%) that will not be ready when the January deadline hits – a risky and costly proposition!


As Microsoft has announced, after January 14, any PCs operating Windows 7 will become more vulnerable to security risks and viruses because new security updates will no longer be available from Microsoft. To avoid this, Microsoft does offer options for extended support, but the cost can be as high as $200 per Windows 7 PC for just one year's worth of OS security updates.

Fear that Updates May Break Applications

So, with high costs looming, and the fear of security risk mounting, why hasn't everyone completed their migration? The Ivanti Survey found that high resource and time requirements as well as migration costs (57%) were the top factor preventing the completion of Windows 10 migrations. The need to focus on other, higher IT priorities (47%) was the next most common factor while the fear of application readiness or support for Windows 10 (40%) followed as a close third.

In fact, application compatibility concerns are high across the board, preventing many organizations from performing needed software updates. Fear that new updates and patches will "break" applications was reported by 58% of respondents, while 48% don't want updates and patches to impact user productivity and 29% say updates and patches are too manually time consuming.

Costs to Maintain Windows 10 Expected to Be the Same, or Lower

Even though many organizations are still not prepared, the Windows 7 end-of-life date in January was the top priority driving the timing for those that have migrated to Windows 10 (44%). Other priorities driving the timing for a Windows 10 migration included the mitigation of security risk (23%), mitigation of operational risk (11%) and improving user productivity (10%).

The cost of maintaining Windows 10 compared to Windows 7, however, was not a factor. As many as half expect the cost of maintaining Windows 10 to be the same as Windows 7, with 20% even expecting maintenance costs to be lower.

Physical Still Far Outweighs Virtual

The lack of a significant maintenance cost impact for Windows 10 may be working to retain the use of physical devices, compared to the use of virtual or cloud-delivered workspaces for Windows 10. Even with Microsoft's recent focus on promoting Azure-delivered cloud workspaces and Windows Virtual Desktop, 70% of IT professionals still say they will use Windows 10 on physical desktops and laptops, while only a quarter expect to use a hybrid mix of virtual and physical desktops.

Automation to the Rescue

To avoid paying expensive support fees after the January deadline, companies may want to look to tools to help automate their migration, patching and update processes. This can dramatically relive IT from migration resource and time demands while minimizing cost and ensuring seamless support for user applications.

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Windows 10 Migration Delays: 39% Won't Meet January 14 Deadline

Rex McMillan

For IT professionals responsible for upgrading users to Windows 10, it's crunch time.

End of regular support for Windows 7 is nearly here (January 14, 2020) but as many as 59% say that only a portion of their users have been migrated to Windows 10. This is according to a new survey from Ivanti which includes responses from more than 500 IT professionals. Consider these key findings:

2 in 5 Organizations May be Writing a Big Check

Just 39% report that they have completed Windows 10 migration for all of their users. For those still migrating, 38% say they "almost" have 100% of their users on Windows 10, while 23% report that their users will be migrated by the Windows 7 end-of-life date. That leaves nearly two in five organizations (39%) that will not be ready when the January deadline hits – a risky and costly proposition!


As Microsoft has announced, after January 14, any PCs operating Windows 7 will become more vulnerable to security risks and viruses because new security updates will no longer be available from Microsoft. To avoid this, Microsoft does offer options for extended support, but the cost can be as high as $200 per Windows 7 PC for just one year's worth of OS security updates.

Fear that Updates May Break Applications

So, with high costs looming, and the fear of security risk mounting, why hasn't everyone completed their migration? The Ivanti Survey found that high resource and time requirements as well as migration costs (57%) were the top factor preventing the completion of Windows 10 migrations. The need to focus on other, higher IT priorities (47%) was the next most common factor while the fear of application readiness or support for Windows 10 (40%) followed as a close third.

In fact, application compatibility concerns are high across the board, preventing many organizations from performing needed software updates. Fear that new updates and patches will "break" applications was reported by 58% of respondents, while 48% don't want updates and patches to impact user productivity and 29% say updates and patches are too manually time consuming.

Costs to Maintain Windows 10 Expected to Be the Same, or Lower

Even though many organizations are still not prepared, the Windows 7 end-of-life date in January was the top priority driving the timing for those that have migrated to Windows 10 (44%). Other priorities driving the timing for a Windows 10 migration included the mitigation of security risk (23%), mitigation of operational risk (11%) and improving user productivity (10%).

The cost of maintaining Windows 10 compared to Windows 7, however, was not a factor. As many as half expect the cost of maintaining Windows 10 to be the same as Windows 7, with 20% even expecting maintenance costs to be lower.

Physical Still Far Outweighs Virtual

The lack of a significant maintenance cost impact for Windows 10 may be working to retain the use of physical devices, compared to the use of virtual or cloud-delivered workspaces for Windows 10. Even with Microsoft's recent focus on promoting Azure-delivered cloud workspaces and Windows Virtual Desktop, 70% of IT professionals still say they will use Windows 10 on physical desktops and laptops, while only a quarter expect to use a hybrid mix of virtual and physical desktops.

Automation to the Rescue

To avoid paying expensive support fees after the January deadline, companies may want to look to tools to help automate their migration, patching and update processes. This can dramatically relive IT from migration resource and time demands while minimizing cost and ensuring seamless support for user applications.

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According to Auvik's 2025 IT Trends Report, 60% of IT professionals feel at least moderately burned out on the job, with 43% stating that their workload is contributing to work stress. At the same time, many IT professionals are naming AI and machine learning as key areas they'd most like to upskill ...

Businesses that face downtime or outages risk financial and reputational damage, as well as reducing partner, shareholder, and customer trust. One of the major challenges that enterprises face is implementing a robust business continuity plan. What's the solution? The answer may lie in disaster recovery tactics such as truly immutable storage and regular disaster recovery testing ...

IT spending is expected to jump nearly 10% in 2025, and organizations are now facing pressure to manage costs without slowing down critical functions like observability. To meet the challenge, leaders are turning to smarter, more cost effective business strategies. Enter stage right: OpenTelemetry, the missing piece of the puzzle that is no longer just an option but rather a strategic advantage ...

Amidst the threat of cyberhacks and data breaches, companies install several security measures to keep their business safely afloat. These measures aim to protect businesses, employees, and crucial data. Yet, employees perceive them as burdensome. Frustrated with complex logins, slow access, and constant security checks, workers decide to completely bypass all security set-ups ...

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In high-traffic environments, the sheer volume and unpredictable nature of network incidents can quickly overwhelm even the most skilled teams, hindering their ability to react swiftly and effectively, potentially impacting service availability and overall business performance. This is where closed-loop remediation comes into the picture: an IT management concept designed to address the escalating complexity of modern networks ...

In 2025, enterprise workflows are undergoing a seismic shift. Propelled by breakthroughs in generative AI (GenAI), large language models (LLMs), and natural language processing (NLP), a new paradigm is emerging — agentic AI. This technology is not just automating tasks; it's reimagining how organizations make decisions, engage customers, and operate at scale ...

In the early days of the cloud revolution, business leaders perceived cloud services as a means of sidelining IT organizations. IT was too slow, too expensive, or incapable of supporting new technologies. With a team of developers, line of business managers could deploy new applications and services in the cloud. IT has been fighting to retake control ever since. Today, IT is back in the driver's seat, according to new research by Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) ...

In today's fast-paced and increasingly complex network environments, Network Operations Centers (NOCs) are the backbone of ensuring continuous uptime, smooth service delivery, and rapid issue resolution. However, the challenges faced by NOC teams are only growing. In a recent study, 78% state network complexity has grown significantly over the last few years while 84% regularly learn about network issues from users. It is imperative we adopt a new approach to managing today's network experiences ...

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From growing reliance on FinOps teams to the increasing attention on artificial intelligence (AI), and software licensing, the Flexera 2025 State of the Cloud Report digs into how organizations are improving cloud spend efficiency, while tackling the complexities of emerging technologies ...