The latest research by IT Asset Management software provider, Lansweeper, has revealed that 55% of devices are not capable of being upgraded to Windows 11.
This will be a large concern for IT teams in enterprises as they have been under pressure to devise a quick and cost-effective strategy to roll out the new Windows 11 Operating System.
To understand just how big the challenge is, Lansweeper conducted its research based on an estimated 30 million Windows devices from 60,000 organisations. It revealed that on average, only 44.4% of the workstations are eligible to receive the automatic upgrade, while the rest would be ineligible.
Microsoft has allowed anyone to manually install Windows 11 regardless of the CPU, however, an automatic upgrade is only possible if three critical components of the computer — the CPU, the RAM and the TPM — meet the requirements necessary to execute the upgrade.
The research also showed that while the majority passed the RAM test (91%), only about half of the workstation TPMs (Trusted Platform Module) tested met the requirements – 19% failed and 28% were not TPM compatible or did not have it enabled.
Roel Decneut, Chief Marketing Officer at Lansweeper, said, “Microsoft justifies the need for these requirements to allay security fears, as many devices won’t be able to upgrade, even some that are fresh on the market. The flip side is that this may in fact leave a tonne of devices at even more risk of becoming vulnerable. Those who can’t update to Windows 11 – likely most businesses in the short-term – will continue to use Windows 10. Microsoft plans to end support for Windows 10 in 2025, which means no more security patches for devices that can’t transition onto its successor.”
It’s clear from this research that a lot of work will need to be done to achieve Windows 11 readiness since the new operating system will have more stringent system requirements than its predecessor. With modern hardware that improves security and over 1,000 new management controls, older management systems like Group Policy can start fading away.
Decneut concludes, “For enterprises with thousands of Windows machines, preparing for the Windows 11 upgrade is a massive task without automation – and even worse without an up-to-date IT asset inventory. Without complete visibility across the IT estate, organisations could potentially waste hours and significant budget manually inspecting machines – not to mention the risk of missing outdated machines they don’t know about.”
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