Windows 11 upgrade

To facilitate this change, the upgrade will first be made available within the software centre of the remaining Windows 10 devices. This will allow staff to run the upgrade themselves from Monday 19 January to Friday 30 January. Customers who require the upgrade please see the Windows 11 upgrade instruction set.

After Friday 30 January the upgrade will move to a required upgrade which will force the upgrade to install on the devices.

What is Windows 11?

Windows 11 is the latest version of Microsoft’s operating system. An operating system is a collection of software that manages computer resources and serves as the interface between the end user, the applications they run, and the hardware devices they use.

Why we moved to Windows 11?

1. Microsoft ended support for their Windows 10 operating system in October 2025. This means that there are no more software updates, or fixes for any identified bugs, or address any vulnerabilities found in the system. This presents organisations like the council with security issues and incompatible hardware and software for those devices currently running under Windows 10
2. Computer manufacturers, hardware producers, and software designers are concentrating their product development and support on the Windows 11 platform.
3. One of the primary intentions of Windows 11 is to unify the Windows experience across multiple devices, such as desktop computers and mobile devices.
4. Microsoft aim to continuously improve the system with small updates to features and functionality, thus reducing the amount of disruption to end users caused by larger updates.
5. Windows 11 provides the organisation with a stage for the latest tools and services, designed to boost productivity, communication, and collaborative working in a business environment.
6. There are many new management features in Windows 11, assisting system administrators to deliver and support devices, applications, and data in an easy to use and secure way.
7. With Windows 11, Microsoft claims quicker device start-up and shut down times, improved performance and better security, an enhanced Start menu and desktop.

The new documentation Getting Started with Windows 11 provides more information on Windows 11 features and tutorials.