NHS organisations have now been given a deadline for getting their Windows 10 upgrade plans in place – or risk losing out on funding for future IT upgrades.

In April the Department of Health agreed a deal with Microsoft to roll Windows 10 out across the NHS by 2020 in a bid to bolster hospitals’ cybersecurity defences.

The deal means any NHS organisation joining the new Windows 10 agreement must commit to migrating to Windows 10 by no later than 14 January 2020 – the final day that Windows 7 will be supported by Microsoft.

The announcement of the Windows 10 upgrade comes almost a year on from the WannaCry ransomware outbreak which hit hospitals and GP surgeries across the country. 

Almost all victims of the 2017 outbreak were running Windows 7 and many NHS trusts hadn’t applied a critical Microsoft emergency security patch.

 Enhanced security for NHS Trusts 

We’ve been actively helping NHS Trusts migrate from older operating systems like Windows XP that are no longer supported. With end-of-support for Windows 7 on the horizon, it makes sense to take advantage of the new deal and make the move to Windows 10 without delay.

Why? The Windows 10 deal will see all security updates applied as soon as these become available.

What’s more, all systems come equipped with Microsoft’s Defender anti-malware software and Smartscreen, which performs reputation checks on websites to block malicious ones.

It’s worth remembering that Windows 10 migration is not just a top priority for IT departments at NHS Trusts.

With less than two years to go before Windows 7 support officially stops, 44% of businesses surveyed in the 2018 Computer Weekly/TechTarget IT Priorities survey said they plan to migrate to Windows 10 this year.

According to industry analyst Gartner, their top reasons for doing so include enhanced security (49%), cloud integration (38%) and an opportunity to rethink how they manage desktop IT, relinquishing overall responsibility of desktop systems to focus on more strategic transformation projects. 

Planning your migration - evaluating the challenges

Upgrading software at scale involves a huge amount of work and resources. Having a detailed migration plan in place will be key to minimising potential migration issues.

Here’s just some of our top recommendations:

Check legacy applications will run on Windows 10 – lack of compatibility with apps and legacy software is a time-consuming hurdle to overcome. Microsoft provides an assessment deployment kit to help IT administrators check if their applications will run on Windows 10, but it can take a lot of upfront planning to ensure the applications users need are part of their newly imaged computer. 

Mitigate against data loss – securing data and user settings before undertaking a large-scale migration will substantially reduce stress and risk during the process and ensure a seamless experience for end users.  

Managing Windows 10 desktops – taking advantage of desktop virtualisation means you can easily manage hundreds or thousands of desktops from a single admin console and simplify ongoing management.  

Define your end user engagement plan – are you going to enable a self-service portal, or will you migrate certain users at set times and provide on-site personnel to handle the process? Whatever your approach, you’re going to have to communicate to users their migration path, with specific events and dates clearly set out.

Here at PSTG we’ve extensive experience at helping NHS organisations plan and implement their migration to Windows 10.

Alongside helping to accelerate project processes, these organisations have turned to us to ensure they have a well-designed and architected platform in place that’s optimised for the delivery of Windows 10, applications and the end-user computing environment.

If you’d like to know how to improve your health and safety in IT, why not get in contact for a chat? You can make an enquiry here.