Windows 10 Support Has Ended: What Should Vancouver Businesses Do in 2026?
By Anojh Thayaparan, Founder, Glimpse Networks
Windows 10 stopped receiving free security updates on October 14, 2025. If your business still runs it in 2026, you have four options: upgrade eligible PCs to Windows 11 (free), replace ineligible ones, buy Extended Security Updates as a bridge, or move those workloads to cloud PCs. Doing nothing is the one choice with no upside — every month adds unpatched vulnerabilities that attackers and cyber insurers both notice.
Where things stand in 2026
Microsoft's Extended Security Updates (ESU) program is the only source of Windows 10 security patches now. For businesses it runs up to three years, priced per device at USD $61 for year one, roughly doubling each year after — and it's cumulative, so joining late means paying for the years you skipped. The first ESU year ends in October 2026, which makes this summer the decision point: renew for a more expensive year two, or finish migrating.
One helpful exception: Microsoft has committed to security updates for Microsoft 365 Apps (Word, Excel, Outlook) on Windows 10 into 2028 — but that protects Office, not the operating system under it.
Option 1: Upgrade what's eligible — it's free
Any PC meeting Windows 11's hardware requirements (TPM 2.0, Secure Boot, and roughly an Intel 8th-generation or AMD Ryzen 2000 processor or newer) upgrades at no licence cost. Most machines bought after 2018 qualify. The work is in doing it properly: checking application compatibility, upgrading in waves, and having a rollback plan — not in the licence.
Option 2: Replace what isn't
PCs that can't run Windows 11 are, by definition, seven-plus years old — already past sensible refresh age. Replacing them is usually cheaper than two more years of ESU on hardware that's about to fail anyway. Spread purchases across quarters, and remember decommissioned drives need certified data destruction, not a trip to the bin.
Option 3: ESU as a deliberate bridge
ESU makes sense in one scenario: a specific machine that can't move yet — it runs equipment control software, a legacy application awaiting replacement — and needs a defined bridge, not a destination. Buy it for those devices with an exit date attached. Cloud alternatives sweeten this: Windows 365 Cloud PCs and Azure Virtual Desktop include ESU for the Windows 10 devices that access them.
The risk nobody prices in: your insurance policy
Cyber insurance applications now routinely ask whether all systems are supported and patched. An unsupported Windows 10 fleet — with no ESU — can mean a declined claim precisely when you need the policy most. Unpatched, internet-connected machines are also the exact profile ransomware groups scan for. The cheapest option on paper is the most expensive one in an incident.