Aussie Channel Partners Prepare Customers for Windows 10 End of Support
As the October deadline for the end of support for Windows 10 approaches, Australian channel partners are actively assisting customers with upgrades and offering support options, according too industry experts. While Extended Security Updates (ESU) are available, the consensus is that a move to Windows 11 should be prioritized.
Arinco is focusing its development on Windows 11 accelerators and will not be offering support for Windows 10, reflecting the industry shift. Demand for upgrade assistance is increasing,with many customers initiating upgrades internally but finding themselves short on time to complete the process before the October deadline,noted O’Neill. “We’ve definitely seen more requests from customers that need help finishing thier upgrades before October,” he said.
Microsoft is strongly recommending a transition to Windows 11, with Baltazar stating, “The strongest recommendation remains to plan and budget for Windows 11. Upgrading provides modern security features and long‑term support at no additional software cost.” While Windows 10 will remain functional without ESU, it’s not considered a sustainable long-term solution. “However, he added ESU should be treated strictly as a stopgap, and a move to Windows 11 should take place as soon as possible; as while Windows 10 will remain functional if ESU isn’t purchased, it’s not a long-term option.”
Channel partners are equipped to handle the diverse needs of their clients, including supporting mixed environments. Goeldner emphasized this capability, stating, “Supporting mixed environments is core to our managed service model. Our teams are specialists in navigating fleet diversity and are experts in managing transitions across varied operating systems, hardware profiles, and provisioning maturity.” Some customers utilizing Windows 10 LTSB or LTSC editions, which have extended support beyond 2025, may choose to remain on the OS as a compliant decision.”Readiness doesn’t always mean immediate migration,” Goeldner added. “The channel must be equipped to support both upgrade and sustainment paths, and mature partners are already doing so.”
However, delaying the upgrade could create recurring issues. O’Neill warned that organizations who hastily upgraded to Windows 11 or relied on ESU as a temporary fix face ongoing challenges.”The organisations that rushed through a Windows 11 upgrade, or purchased ESU just to buy time, have the most work ahead of them,” he said. He stressed the importance of modern device management, including cloud-native tools like Intune and Entra Join, to avoid repeating these challenges with future Windows versions. “without those foundations, the same challenges will return when the next version of Windows arrives.”
Industry readiness varies, with financial services organizations generally leading the way due to regulatory requirements, according to Mumford. “Financial services organisations are generally ahead because of statutory and certification requirements.” Retail and manufacturing sectors may utilize extended support for specialized endpoints during migration. Mumford confirmed the channel is collaborating closely with Microsoft and hardware partners to address remaining gaps.
Kleynhans highlighted the necessity of Windows 11 for organizations aiming to stay current with the microsoft ecosystem. “There really is no reason for most organisations to hold off on deploying it,” he said, while acknowledging some customers may require partner guidance to initiate the process.
Johnson concluded that the channel is prepared and actively driving the transition.”The channel is ready, mobilised and actively driving the transition to Windows 11,” he stated. ”This motion has been underway for quite some time within the channel, though, there are still a large number of end-customers that need education, guidance and support in making their transition to Windows.”
