“We’re already seeing challenges with supply lead times”
Melissa Rambridge, CEO, inTEC
With the end-of-support date now just 49 days away, how concerned are you about the number of customers, and UK organisations more generally, who are still on Windows 10?
Most of our customers have this on their radar. So, whilst there is a large (and no doubt, last-minute!) workload to upgrade customers to Windows 11, we are confident this will happen for the majority by 14 October. Our concern lies with those customers that are leaving it until the last minute to purchase new hardware – we’re already seeing challenges with supply lead times.
Windows 11, the rise of AI PCs, and the ageing PC install base are said to have created a “perfect storm” for PC refresh in 2025. To what extent has this boosted your PC sales this year, and, looking at your client base, how far through that PC refresh are we?
In the education sector, Windows 11 has certainly been the key driver of widespread PC refreshes, with numerous Multi-Academy Trusts purchasing north of 1,000 devices across this summer period. For many this has tied in with an opportunity to purchase devices that better fit their teaching and learning strategy (e.g. Chromebooks) but we have seen minimal demand for AI PCs.
Similarly, we have not seen a notable demand for AI PCs in the commercial sector – so I would concur with the statement that demand for such has been slower than expected.
