Millions of Business PCs to Miss Windows 11 Upgrade Deadline, Analysts Warn

With just days left before Microsoft officially ends support for Windows 10, a massive portion of the global business PC fleet is still running the aging operating system.

Despite months of reminders and upgrade incentives, analysts say hundreds of millions of devices won’t make the leap to Windows 11 before the October 14 cutoff.

When the deadline hits, Microsoft will issue its final Windows 10 updates. After that, organizations will need to buy Extended Security Updates (ESU), priced at $61 per device for the first year, doubling to $122 in year two and again in year three, to stay protected.

Millions of PCs not ready for Windows 11

According to data from Omdia, roughly 550 million corporate PCs are still on Windows 10, and around half of those won’t meet the Windows 11 transition deadline.

Speaking to The Register, Analyst Kieren Jessop said about 20% of those systems fail to meet Microsoft’s strict hardware standards, which require a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) and modern CPU.

While Windows 11 adoption has reached around 60% in the U.S. and 65% across Europe, emerging markets continue to lag far behind. Jessop noted that many companies are holding off upgrades due to tight budgets and a lack of compelling new features.

Even with manufacturers like Dell, HP, and Lenovo launching new AI-powered Copilot+ PCs, demand has been slower than expected. Rising hardware costs and limited must-have apps have made the transition less urgent for many organizations.