Managing the Windows 10 EOL deadline
I have been out and about meeting with customers this year and the overwhelming topic at the moment is how to migrate their fleet from Microsoft Windows 10 OS which is due to go end of life in October 2025. Here are some of the key points that are always front of mind.
PLANNING
There are many ways in which we can help. Firstly with the planning of the upgrade. There are many requirements that need to be met before you can commence the upgrade journey from having UEFI instead of BIOS, Secure Boot enabled, the required TPM chip, or even having the required number of cores or correct version of Windows 10. There is a dashboard that BigFix has that helps with all of this, to make sure that your planning is sound and your fleet is Windows 11 ready.
ROLL OUT
Once planning is completed, the rollout is the next crucial factor in making the switch from Windows 10 to 11. There can be many factors that cause the upgrade process to fail.
The first stage is the actual size of the deployment, with the image around 6GB in size, being able to control the path this massive payload follows, as well as controlling the network utilisation, and the disk space required on machines is a challenge that BigFix excels at.
We can help control bandwidth, automatically cache the content through a hierarchical network with our Relays or Peer to Peer capability with Peer Nesting to ensure that the payload is delivered efficiently, in a controlled manner, and without a negative impact on business operations.
Once the payload is on the machine the next challenge is to ensure that the upgrade will actually be successful, even with all the pre planning being performed, issues can arise when upgrading Windows OS due to incompatibility with Software. I have seen first hand in the past that failures can occur because of an unsupported version of Antivirus Software with Windows 11, as well as compatibility issues with older versions of VMWare Workstation when attempting the upgrade, to name just a couple of examples.
BigFix will give you the ability to be able to run the setup in a 'simulation' mode, basically testing the installation without actually installing. You then will have information about all the systems that have passed this check, and can then manage the final step of the installation in a controlled manner, choosing when you pull the trigger on the actual upgrade, with all the files already cached on the machine and ready to be invoked.
WORK FROM HOME
With the shift in business dynamics towards a hybrid workforce following the Covid19 pandemic, many customers are now facing the challenge about how they will do the upgrade with many of their staff working from home. BigFix can do all of the planning and Roll Out I have already mentioned regardless of whether the user is in the office, connected via VPN, or connected directly via the internet. No matter whether they are connected to AD or in a workgroup, no matter if they are at home or in a hotel, BigFix can perform, report and control for full visibility.
INTEGRATION
Finally we have integration to help with all these activities, whether it is using our integration with Intel vPro to wake machines and control updates, or integration with ServiceNow so that you can see in the CMDB when the OS is updated, BigFix can help.
SUMMARY
Upgrading to Windows 11 in the new hybrid workforce need not be scary. BigFix can help take the pain out of the upgrade from Windows 10 to 11 and give staff back their weekends whilst helping drive down costs.
HELPFUL LINKS
Video of Windows 10 to 11 upgrade: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdqZ_cXvqf8&t=5s&pp=ygUZYmlnZml4IHdpbmRvd3MgMTEgdXBncmFkZQ%3D%3D
Blog of Windows 10 to 11 upgrade: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/bigfix-migrate-windows-11-brad-sexton/
BigFix & Intel vPro: https://www.hcl-software.com/bigfix/tech-partners/intel-ema
BigFix & ServiceNow: https://www.hcl-software.com/bigfix/service-now-partner