Our Desktop Services team are well on track with the Windows 10 upgrade. All managed desktops and laptops in UAS and GLAM need to be upgraded and well over 80 per cent (3789 devices) have been completed. Work continues through the summer holiday period and the project still plans to be finished by Christmas.
While upgrades are progressing well, it has not all been plain sailing - there have been issues which have required careful planning and specialist work. For example, some users cannot move to Windows 10 because they use software which is not Windows 10 compatible; these users require specialist advice and contingency measures. Another complication was the scheduled switch-off of the whole disk encryption service. This meant that laptops have been prioritised so that they can use the in-built BitLocker technology which comes with Windows 10 to protect data.
The move to Windows 10 is required because Microsoft support for Windows 7 ends in January 2020. The upgrade also means that future operating system changes should be released as ‘feature updates’ which can be managed as part of business as usual rather than a major project.
Keeping to projected milestones has been the result of close collaboration between department representatives and the Desktop Services team. Dates and plans have been negotiated effectively and flexibility offered when required.
“Your excellent team have been in this morning to swap over a whole bunch of our PCs. I thought they all deserved a big thank you for being so quick and efficient at getting things sorted as well as making sure we all managed to get ourselves set back up with printers etc. [Name] was very patient with us and the whole process was very smooth from our point of view.” Penny Ward, Security Services
Preparatory work is now focussed on the final large group of devices, those in the gardens and museums. Further information about the project is available on the project website.
