On October 14, 2025, Microsoft officially retired Windows 10, marking the end of a decade-long journey for the operating system. With Windows 11 now taking center stage, the tech giant is committed to providing regular feature and security updates for its latest offering. However, the transition has not been seamless, particularly for users in the UK, where the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has recently made headlines due to its substantial upgrade expenditures.
In a report submitted by David Hill, the Interim Permanent Secretary at Defra, the department disclosed the completion of an extensive upgrade process that transitioned tens of thousands of Windows 7 PCs to Windows 10. This report, filed on October 10, 2025, was a response to a request from the Public Accounts Committee made in May 2023. The committee urged Defra to bolster its investment case by analyzing potential efficiency savings from modernizing its systems and processes. The report’s timing, arriving 17 months after the initial request, raises questions about the department’s responsiveness.
Defra’s spending topped £312 million, and there’s more to come
According to Hill’s report, Defra’s upgrade initiative has cost over £312 million (approximately 1 million USD or 6 million CAD) over two years. A significant portion of this budget was allocated to upgrading 31,500 laptops from Windows 7 to Windows 10. The report also highlighted the resolution of 49,000 critical vulnerabilities within the IT network and the migration of 137 legacy applications to more modern infrastructure.
In addition to these upgrades, Defra has closed a data center, enhanced the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s SAM service by migrating it to Defra’s private cloud, and implemented security fixes for outdated servers as a temporary measure until full upgrades can be executed. Despite these advancements, the report indicates that 24,000 devices, 26,000 smartphones, and various network infrastructure components still require replacement, with plans to address these over the next three years. The reasons behind the staggered upgrade timeline remain unclear, but it is likely that some devices were not compatible with Windows 10.
Moreover, the recently upgraded laptops are now facing their own expiration, as they will only receive support through Microsoft’s Extended Security Updates (ESU) program until October 13, 2026. After this date, these devices will be left without official updates, raising concerns about their long-term viability.
Governments move slowly, but Windows 10’s shuttering doesn’t help
Those familiar with government operations understand that progress can often be slow, and Defra’s delayed report serves as a testament to this reality. However, Microsoft also shares responsibility for the current predicament. The decision to terminate official support for Windows 10 while a substantial portion of users still relied on it has sparked accusations of “planned obsolescence.” The company’s subsequent decision to extend security updates for an additional year has been perceived as a mere postponement rather than a solution.
With Defra’s recent transition to Windows 10, the department now faces similar challenges that plagued its previous Windows 7 devices. This situation is likely mirrored across various government and enterprise institutions, highlighting the ongoing ramifications of Microsoft’s decision to phase out Windows 10. The effects of this transition will resonate for years to come, serving as a reminder of the complexities involved in technology upgrades within large organizations.
