The tip of Windows 10 assist has lengthy been on the radar for IT leaders, and lots of organizations have acted accordingly. Via well timed Windows 11 migrations or well-scoped Prolonged Safety Replace (ESU) plans, these groups have laid the groundwork for continuity, security, and compliance.
But broader endpoint information reveals a extra combined image: a major variety of endpoints globally stay on Home windows 10, and a snapshot of Lakeside’s buyer neighborhood information from the final 30 days reveals that round 17% of Home windows gadgets in enterprises are nonetheless operating Home windows 10,.
Chief Product Officer, Lakeside Software program.
When the deadline approached, some IT groups face three core paths: improve, prolong assist, or repurpose. Those that have already accomplished the transition know that success relies on actionable insights, understanding how {hardware}, software, consumer expertise, and system well being intersect throughout the surroundings.
Drawing on enterprise implementations and endpoint telemetry, the next 9 methods supply a confirmed, data-driven method which has already helped organizations make knowledgeable, environment friendly selections as they exit Home windows 10.
1. Use hardware and firmware data to assess upgrade readiness
Start by scanning each device’s firmware, CPU model, TPM presence, and memory availability. These indicators determine whether a machine is viable for Windows 11 or a candidate for alternative deployment.
Devices that fail Windows 11 checks may still be suitable for alternative deployments, such as thin client duties or alternative operating systems.
2. Map application usage to target extended support investment
Microsoft ESUs permit the selective extension of Home windows 10 safety assist. However blanket adoption is dear. Use software program utilization and dependency information to establish which programs actually require continued assist, usually these operating legacy, business-critical, or non-portable apps.
In a big authorities finance surroundings, utilization analytics confirmed that solely a small set of machines ran a crucial reconciliation device. That allowed ESU scope to be restricted to these, whereas different items moved on.
3. Assess device health and digital experience, not just age
Device age alone is a blunt instrument. A lightly used older machine may outperform a newer but heavily burdened one. True insight comes from analysing metrics such as CPU load, memory pressure, disk latency, and digital employee experience (DEX) scores.
DEX scoring combines latency, responsiveness, error patterns, and useful resource rivalry to disclose the place customers wrestle, typically earlier than points floor as assist tickets. This mixed view helps IT groups categorize endpoints for improve, prolonged assist, or decommissioning.
Gadgets with poor DEX scores could benefit remediation, substitute, or exclusion from migration waves, even when they meet technical thresholds. In a single public sector engagement, this method recognized frontline gadgets that, regardless of being newer, posed excessive migration danger because of performance points.
4. Track performance degradation over time
Upgrading to Windows 11 isn’t a fire-and-forget task. Ongoing feature and quality updates continually change how devices perform, making regular performance assessment essential.
Tracking trends in boot time, memory use, crash frequency, login delays, and latency helps identify machines that are starting to struggle—often the ones most likely to fail post-migration or during support extension.
5. Analyze software dependencies before changing platform
Application compatibility isn’t just about whether software launches; it’s also about what it depends on behind the scenes. Licensing constraints, authentication layers, middleware, and browser plugins can all prevent smooth transitions to Windows 11 or other platforms.
These issues often go unnoticed until workflows break or compliance risks emerge. Dependency mapping, based on real usage data, helps flag systems that rely on Windows-specific components or tightly coupled environments. Identifying them now reduces the chance of disruption and ensures that only suitable machines move forward.
6. Validate pilots with comparable data and usage feedback
Piloting new operating systems is greater than a technical experiment. For pilots to be significant, monitoring should mirror the identical telemetry used throughout your Home windows area. Efficiency, utility responsiveness, useful resource stability and consumer suggestions ought to be captured persistently.
Efficient pilots additionally require anomaly detection, occasion correlation, and root trigger evaluation to make sure that suggestions from take a look at customers will be traced to particular workload or compatibility points. With out that depth, pilot success in restricted settings could not maintain below enterprise scale.
7. Investigate post-upgrade failures with device‑level diagnostics
Migrations sometimes complete but leave devices unstable. When systems underperform or fail after an upgrade, deep diagnostics are critical.
Whether the root cause is driver misalignment, firmware mismatch, resource contention, or configuration drift, only detailed device telemetry surfaces what changed and why.
This insight lets you refine driver packs, firmware baselines, and configuration policies, so that each successive wave improves.
8. Automate fixes for common migration blockers
Common issues such as full disks, outdated firmware, missing patches, or driver conflicts should be detected and resolved before migration attempts.
Automated remediation scripts or remote updates help precondition machines at scale. Organizations employing such practices report fewer support incidents and smoother deployment runs.
9. Weigh Windows 11 performance trade‑offs carefully
Benchmark comparisons yield a combined image. In a few of our anonymized international endpoint information, upgrading to Home windows 11 corresponded to round 7% higher disk throughput and decrease latency, but additionally 5% increased CPU use and seven% higher reminiscence demand.
Though solely about 12% of gadgets in that dataset had migrated on the time, these metrics present a sensible view of the workload trade-offs. This means that older or under-spec programs might have {hardware} refresh or reminiscence enlargement to keep away from efficiency regressions.
The bottom line
There is no one-size-fits-all exit from Windows 10. Some organizations will press ahead with Windows 11, others will extend support on key systems through Microsoft’s ESU offering, and still others will repurpose devices into alternative roles or platforms.
The common denominator across every path is visibility. With comprehensive, real-time insight into hardware, software usage, performance, and user experience, IT can make informed, intentional decisions instead of knee-jerk reactions.
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