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Windows 11 is Closer Than You Think

Executive Summary

Microsoft has announced that Windows 11 will have much stricter hardware requirements than prior versions of Windows, and as such, your current computers may not be able to run Windows 11. We highly recommend that you begin the process of budgeting and planning for computers that are able to run Windows 11.

Windows Lifecycles

Windows 10 retirement date is scheduled for October 14, 2025. Until then, Windows will continue to receive periodic updates. After October 14, 2025, Windows 10 will no longer receive updates.
In case you are still running a “legacy” version of Windows, you are past the end of life on nearly all of them. From a security standpoint, you should not be running anything prior to Windows 8.1!
The chart below summarizes the end-of-life dates for the most popular versions of Windows.

Product Launch Date End of Life
Windows XP Dec 31, 2001 Apr 8, 2014
Windows 7 Oct 22, 2009 Jan 14, 2020
Windows 8 Oct 30, 2012 Jan 12, 2016
Windows 8.1 Nov 13, 2013 Jan 10, 2023
Windows 10 Jul 29, 2015 Oct 14, 2025

To determine what version of Windows you are currently running, open a windows explorer window, right click on “This PC” or “My Computer” and select properties from the context menu.
Free upgrades to eligible PCs will be available from Oct. 5, 2021, and will continue
into 2022.

Windows 11 Hardware Requirements

Microsoft has a tool to help you evaluate your devices against the Windows 11 hardware requirements. Users running Windows 10 can use the PC Health Check app to determine their eligibility for Windows 11.

Have you checked your server?

While we are discussing the upgrade to Windows 11, have you checked your server lately, and the versions of the software running on it. The chart below summarizes the end of life dates for the most popular versions of Windows Server.

Product Launch Date End of Life
Windows Server 2008 R2 Oct 22, 2009 Jan 14, 2020
Windows Server 2012 R2 Nov 25, 2013 Oct 10, 2023
Windows Server 2016 Oct 12, 2016 Jan 11, 2027
Windows Server 2019 Nov 13, 2018 Jan 9, 2029
Windows Server 2022 Aug 18, 2021 Oct 14, 2031

Summary

It is very important that you plan ahead for this next Windows migration and that you start budgeting now for the upgraded computers required to run Windows 11. October 2025 is just a couple years away and the process of planning for and upgrading your computer infrastructure could take quite a while.

“Microsoft® Windows®” is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries.


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