The main two reasons are cybersecurity and compliance. Once the end of support date passes any newly discovered and unpatched vulnerabilities in Windows 10 can and will be exploited by cyber criminals. Compliance is a significant factor facing any company, large or small, that has insurance policies that state they must be running a supported operating system in their IT environment. After October 2025, insurances may be voided in the case of an incident where Windows 10 is no longer supported. 

The amount of Windows 10 devices that need to be refreshed in New Zealand compared to the inbound supply of devices shipped into New Zealand in any given year is highlighting a risk. The New Zealand device market does not have the capacity to meet the demand for devices that need to be refreshed, and a stock shortage is a likely outcome. Partners need to start the conversations with their customers now to ensure they get access to their first device preference.

No, however, Windows 11 Pro devices are a perfect upgrade path for the bulk of users. Copilot+ PCs and AI PCs are great choices if your customer is using AI regularly and would benefit from edge (on-device) AI processing capabilities. For example, an executive who has a Copilot license and who takes regular flights where there is no connectivity is a perfect candidate for a Copilot+ PC with on-device AI processing.