What you need to know
- Microsoft has updated its 190,000 PCs to Windows 11.
- The company says the upgrade process is “for the most part considered the smoothest” it has had.
- An unspecified number of Microsoft PCs were not upgraded to Windows 11.
Windows 11 started rolling out last year, and Microsoft has been hard at work getting its own systems to run the new operating system. The company recently shared details (opens in a new tab) about upgrading to Windows 11, including their 190,000 PCs currently running on the operating system. Microsoft’s Lukas Velush explains that the upgrade to Windows 11 is “largely considered the smoothest” Microsoft has ever had.
Velush credits a seamless transition thanks to a number of factors: good application compatibility, not requiring large amounts of disk images, and the use of tools that have been refined and improved during the rollout Windows 10.
While more than 190,000 Microsoft PCs have been upgraded to Windows 11 in 5 weeks, an unspecified number have yet to be upgraded. “Windows 11 has specific hardware requirements, and one percent of our devices are not upgraded,” Velush said. “Employees with these devices will continue to run Windows 10 side-by-side and receive the Windows 11 device at their next device refresh.”
The upgrade process in Microsoft is automated using the Windows Update for Business deployment service. This tool allows the organization to opt out of updates as needed and manage exceptions. Microsoft can also restore the system to Windows 10 if needed.
“We consider the upgrade to Windows 11 a strong success story,” said Velush. “We’re not raising support tickets, we’ve adopted it across the company and it’s the fastest rollout in the history of the company.”
Microsoft does not specify how many of its PCs cannot be upgraded to Windows 11. The operating system has some strict minimum requirements, so some older systems cannot be upgraded. According to Microsoft, of the systems eligible for the upgrade, this route has been 99% successful.
