- Defra’s Windows 10 upgrade arrives after Microsoft’s operating system reached its end
- Thousands of remaining devices struggle to meet even basic performance expectations
- Defra’s estate still carries extensive technical debt after years of delay
The UK’s Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has completed a major technology overhaul, upgrading tens of thousands of aging devices to Windows 10.
This is despite Microsoft ending official support for the Windows 10 operating system in October 2025.
The timing of the upgrade means that the department has moved from an aging platform to another that is already in its own final phase.
Moving from Windows 7 to…Windows 10
Defra’s total investment amounted to £312 million during the current spending review cycle and was intended to remove outdated platforms, phase out Windows 7 hardware and support essential national services, including flood systems and border operations.
According to Defra’s submission to Parliament, the program eliminated more than 31,000 older laptops, addressed a large backlog of vulnerabilities and even shut down one data center, with several more set for shutdown over the coming years.
Defra did not confirm whether it intends to pay Microsoft for extended support, opening the possibility that the department’s refreshed estate could soon fall behind again.
The scale of the remaining backlog is hard to ignore, with 24,000 devices still categorized as end-of-life and another 26,000 smartphones and network components awaiting replacement.
Many of these devices seem unable to meet Windows 10 performance expectations, let alone serve as viable candidates for Windows 11.
This suggests that the upgrade may have been a temporary measure rather than a sustainable solution.
The next phase of Defra’s program focuses on migrating essential applications to cloud environments and reducing long-term technical debt through coordinated remediation plans.
The department has linked these shifts to a wider effort to improve efficiency by transforming public-facing services, phasing out paper processes and expanding the use of automation and artificial intelligence.
These changes are framed as essential to achieving future savings, although large migrations often exceed planned budgets and timelines.
However, modernization of services will improve reliability and allow greater use of office software.
It will also streamline tasks through better productivity tools and reduce operational friction across frontline systems.
Defra maintains that benefits will emerge in the next spending review, but past government technology programs show that intentions often collide with practical limits.
The department risks repeating previous cycles of delays unless the cloud migration and broader renewal efforts move faster than they have before.
For now, the upgrade provides short-term stability, aided in part by new AI tools, but the durability of the strategy will depend on how quickly its plans are executed.
Via The register
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