The shift to Windows 11 is inevitable according to Thomas Tapsas, the Director of Channel Sales at Synnex. During a partner event held in Melbourne, Tapsas said the opportunity this presents for partners is substantial.
“For those who have been in the business for a while and remember Y2K, the opportunity here is significantly greater with about four times as many PCs needing to be replaced”, Tapsas said.
As Australia’s leading Personal Systems provider, Synnex is ideally placed to support channel partners as they work with their customers for this transition. But the shift is not purely about the potential of running PCs with a supported version of Windows.
Chris Bright, the Device Partner Sales Lead for Microsoft ANZ, explained that there are both a carrot and a stick motivating the transition.
“The end of technical support for Windows 10 on 14 October 2025 is significant as it means there won’t be any further security or feature updates after that date. And, importantly, Microsoft 365 will not be supported on Windows 10. But there’s also a significant incentive as many Windows 11 capable PCs will be able to take advantage of the innovations that come from Copilot. AI will revolutionise the way we all work with our computers.”
Organisations that choose to not upgrade to Windows 11 run several risks. Security vulnerabilities will not be patched unless organisations pay a premium for extended security – something very few organisations have taken up yet according to Bright. Organisations that suffer a security breach on a Windows 10 PC may find themselves in regulatory hot water and cyber-insurance may be invalid.
The opportunity for partners is significant. In Australian commercial organisations, there are about 5.7 million PCs running Windows 10 with more than half of those not capable of running Windows 11 which requires a Generation 8 or later Intel processor. In the education sector about a million of the 1.8 million PCs still running Windows 10 cannot be upgraded to Windows 11. That equates to almost 4 million computers across those sectors that need to be replaced before 14 October 2025.
Interestingly, on a recent tour of the UK where Bright met with some of his peers, he found that Australia’s adoption of Windows 11 is lagging with over half of the market in the UK already upgraded while adoption in Australia sits at around 38%.
While AI garners plenty of attention, Glen Boatwright, the Regional Sales Manager for HPI at Intel, says the shift upgrading to new PCs running Windows 11 offers many other benefits.
“There are huge hardware gains that aren’t AI,” Boatwright says. “Many PC fleets were upgraded at the start of the pandemic. Since then, there have been six new processor generations. Battery life has doubled in some cases and integrated cameras, pWifi, microphones and other components have all markedly improved. There are massive productivity and user satisfaction gains to be made by upgrading.”
Boatwright says partners who focus on how users’ lives will be better as well as long-term benefits will find greater success in a highly competitive market.
Chris Woodall, the National Configuration Services Manager at Synnex Australia, says there are some challenges and pitfalls to watch out for during the Windows 11 transition, but that Synnex can help partners through that journey.
“There can be challenges ensuring that InTune is configured optimally. And many partners underestimate the time it takes for AutoPilot to execute. But we can work with partners to ensure the deployment to customers is executed as smoothly as possible. That includes services like unboxing and bagging, cable testing and tagging and ensuring AutoPilot is configured correctly.”
With security a major concern, Bright noted that the hardware in newer PCs supports hardware protection of BitLocker-encrypted drives and that PCs running Windows 11 suffer 58% fewer security incidents.
The transition to Windows 11 is happening. With the average mid-range upgrade program taking about 450 days, organisations that haven’t started yet are already about 300 days behind. And with about 4 million PCs needing to be replaced across commercial and education sectors, channel partners have an opportunity to help their customers make this shift. By focussing on the many benefits in usability, performance and productivity, as well as the added benefit of being ready for the AI revolution that is in full swing, partners that leverage Synnex’s expertise will be well placed to boost revenues and help their customers.
To stay ahead of the Windows 11 transition and explore the latest in AI and next-generation hardware, join industry experts at the Synnex Alliance event. Get practical insights, see new technology in action, and connect with peers navigating the same challenges. Reserve your spot today.
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