A looming devices supply chain “crunch” before the end of support for Windows 10 threatens to expose thousands of Australian organisations to elevated risk of data breaches — and insurance and regulatory non-compliance — that could amount to significant costs and penalties, a Sydney audience of IT partners heard this week.

The comment was made at the Dicker Data and Microsoft event, sponsored by Dell Technologies, Dynabook, HP and Lenovo, which aimed to raise awareness about the impending switch to Windows 11.

Former ITnews and CRN Australia editor Nate Cochrane presented IT partners with a CRN Australia report, “End of Support For Windows 10: A Guide For IT Channel Partners”, which found that Australian businesses were unprepared for the end of Windows 10 in fewer than 200 business days. The report is ‘powered by’ Dicker Data and Microsoft and sponsored by the event sponsors mentioned above.

High among concerns arising from Microsoft’s phasing out of Windows 10 on 14 October next year was an emerging global devices shortage that could deny local businesses replacements for their ageing fleets.

“Microsoft’s impending shuttering of support for Windows 10 exposes a significant portion of the Australian economy to threat actors and losses,” Cochrane said before the event.

“For many, it will be a hiccup but, for some, the end of Windows 10 will be an existential crisis.”

But it’s not all doom and gloom. Many end-users would welcome the switch to Windows 11 for its productivity-enhancing benefits, artificial intelligence features and hardened cybersecurity.

Meantime, there was much heavy lifting to do and not much time left.

Analyst IDC estimated about 4 million to 5 million devices on average were sold a year over the past few years and, while those sold in the past three years could possibly make the leap, there were millions of Windows 10 PCs still in Australians’ hands that presently must be replaced.

Dicker Data’s Microsoft business development manager, Gary Lawrence, advised resellers to assess customer fleets and speedily order replacement devices for at-risk hardware that won’t run Windows 11.

Chris Bright, Microsoft’s device partner sales lead, likened a potential shortfall to supplying devices during the onset of the Covid pandemic when, overnight, millions of people working from home depleted stretched supply channels.

Other problems that could arise from running Windows 10 devices after Microsoft ends support were:

• Non-compliance with cybersecurity insurance policies may leave resellers and their customers exposed with potentially unlimited liabilities for cyber incidents.
• Businesses may hesitate to trade with businesses running unsupported environments, especially if they potentially breached privacy laws
• Application incompatibility may arise as software vendors prioritise Windows 11, potentially disrupting operations and hindering productivity of users stuck on Windows 10 after the deadline.

Microsoft and Dicker Data were collaborating to boost skills before the shutdown, including training IT pros in rapid deployment of new systems (‘Modern Device Management’) and helping end-user businesses carry over their applications.

And although an ‘extended support update’ program was available, the partners advised users to avoid it. The costs of staying on obsolete hardware far outweighed the investment in new devices, they said.

Cochrane said the window to act was rapidly closing: “The best day to switch to Windows 11 was yesterday; the next best day is today”.

Download a copy of the CRN Australia, Dicker Data & Microsoft report – “End of Support For Windows 10: A Guide For IT Channel Partners”.