- Windows 10 End of Life is approaching October 14, 2025
- However, many companies are still struggling with technical debt on older systems
- Businesses need to upgrade now or face potential problems experts warn
Almost all businesses may need to make major technical changes as the time limit for the Windows 10 ending is approaching, experts have warned.
Research from Cloudhouse claims that 90% of companies carry some form of Microsoft Windows technical debt, caused by delaying their upgrades to newer and more effective technology.
Microsoft is set to officially complete support for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025, after which the older software suite no longer receives official updates or security fixes, potentially putting users at risk of attacks.
Windows 10 End of Life Problems
These concerns are reflected in the survey, with 72% of respondents saying they believe outdated Windows systems increased their risk of cyberattacks.
Over half (51%) has little system downtime related directly to technical debt, and around the same amount (48%) has already been exposed to compliance problems during audits, and 41%of organizations reporting compliance with the law have become more difficult to maintain due to addiction to older Windows systems.
Many companies say they are already facing increased costs due to their delay in tackling these problems, with almost half (45%) saying budgets are being redirected from areas such as R&D to maintain older systems.
Despite these concerns, it was found that only 14% of the organizations were proactively investing in solving or upgrading their inheritance, while almost half admit that they are dealing only with it reactively when something breaks down.
“Technical debt is not just a technical problem, it is a business risk, a security gap and a human cost,” noted Mat Clothier, CEO of Cloudhouse.
“The fact that 90% of organizations still carry Windows-technical debt, so close to the end of life in Windows 10 should be a waking call. Consciousness is high, but action hangs far behind. Unless organizations address this now, the cost-in downtime, observance errors, lost innovation and employees’ well-being only increase.”
Wanna stick to Windows 10 after October 2025? Here are your options – including how to get a free year of extra support
