The vast majority of IT organizations (91%) have installed Windows 10, but there is still great variation in the current level of Windows 10 adoption. Although a third of IT organizations (34%) have Windows 10 in production to some extent, only 10% are in full production while the majority (56%) are in the early stages, using Windows 10 in IT trial or other limited environments. These are among the findings of the 2017 State of Windows 10 Adoption Survey conducted by Dimensional Research for Ivanti, a leader in integrating and automating critical IT tasks such as Windows desktop migrations.
Factors Impacting Adoption
Nearly nine in ten (87%) have concerns about moving to Windows 10 including application compatibility (65%), the need for user training (43%), manual effort required to migrate (31%), the performance of applications (24%) and the increased complexity of image management (23%). The cost of licensing (21%), desktop security (18%), training cost (17%) and the performance of desktop tasks (16%) were lesser concerns.
Adoption concerns have been validated by those who have begun their migration, but the actual impact appears less than their expectation. Those that have begun their migration have faced issues including application compatibility (50%), support from application vendors (34%), users confused by the Windows 10 interface (29%), user resistance (21%), lack of hardware support (19%) and difficulty migrating user files and settings (18%).
Migration Approaches Abound
Even though organizations are grappling with multiple Windows 10 concerns, adoption is expected to accelerate. In 2015, just 7% had Windows 10 installed outside of IT; in 2017 that grew to 51%. Further, more than three in four (77%) expect to be fully migrated to Windows 10 within the next two years.
Interestingly, no single approach to Windows migration has become the standard. The approaches being used for Windows 10 migration include reimaging (52%), hardware migration (49%), centrally managed in-place migration (44%) and user-initiated in-place migration (14%). Windows 10 implementations are also being done virtually, with a quarter (25%) delivering Windows 10 via virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) and 9% using published desktops delivering the Windows 10 experience from Windows Server 2016.
Selection of the preferred Windows 10 branch is also a divisive factor in migration strategy. More than half (51%) of IT organizations report that they haven’t decided yet on whether they will use the Current Branch for Business (CBB) or Long-Term Service Branch (LTSB). Of the remaining 49%, 29% have selected CBB and 20% have selected LTSB. This branch selection indecision is impacting adoption, with a quarter (26%) of IT organizations reporting a delay in their Windows 10 adoption due to confusion over which branch to select.
Enhancing User Experience and Windows 10 Migration Go Hand-in-Hand
To overcome user confusion and resistance to change, 83% of IT organizations plan to migrate their users’ desktop personalization during their Windows 10 migration. Ensuring that these profile changes and customization follow users as part of the migration process also enhances user productivity and satisfaction with the project.
The most common user personalization info that IT organizations want to transition during their Windows 10 migration include user profile information (63%), printer assignments (49%), file server connections (43%), drive letters (42%), unmanaged or decentralized files and folders (32%) and regional settings (29%). A substantial percentage of IT organizations (28%) even plan to migrate users’ personal files, like photos and music.
Other user-impacting objectives are top of mind for the majority of IT organizations, with 86% planning to implement desktop management capabilities to enhance desktop customization, security and regulatory compliance as part of their migration. Desktop management objectives IT organizations plan for their new Windows 10 environments include:
- Remove full administrative rights from users (41%)
- Achieve faster logon times (38%)
- Seamlessly migrate user file data (33%)
- Migrate personal application and OS settings (29%)
- Prevent user-introduce apps from running or being installed (28%)
- Track user logon times, application usage and admin privileges (21%)
“Windows 10 adoption is unavoidable, so every organization needs to brace themselves with the tools and strategies that will make their migration a success,” said Jon Rolls, Vice President of Product Management, Ivanti. “By implementing a unified approach to endpoint management and adopting user workspace management solutions to ensure a great user experience, enhanced productivity and minimized retraining, companies can realize Windows 10 migration success, and smooth the constant updates and upgrades that come with Windows as a Service.”
About the Ivanti 2017 State of Windows 10 Adoption Survey
The Ivanti 2017 State of Windows 10 Adoption Survey is a global study performed online by Dimensional Research and includes responses from 1,825 IT professionals in more than 23 countries. A webinar which will reveal detailed findings will be held on Wednesday, May 31. To attend, please register here.
About Ivanti
Ivanti is IT evolved. By integrating and automating critical IT tasks, Ivanti helps IT organizations secure the digital workplace. For more than three decades, Ivanti has helped IT professionals address security threats, manage devices and optimize their user experience. From traditional PCs, to mobile devices, virtual machines and the data center, Ivanti helps discover and manage your IT assets wherever they are located, improving IT service delivery and reducing risk. Ivanti also ensures that supply chain and warehouse teams are effectively leveraging the most up-to-date technology to improve productivity throughout their operation. Ivanti is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, and has offices all over the world. For more information, visit www.ivanti.com.
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