The system requirements for Windows 11 continue to be talked about. A big problem looms on the horizon. A recent study by Lansweeper reveals that more than 42% of the computer park of large companies is not compatible.
According to a Lansweeper analysis of 30 million Windows devices belonging to 60,000 companies, the popularity of Windows 11 is very low. The market share of the operating system stands at only 2.61%. When asked why the latest Mircosoft OS is not adopted, the answer is worrying. More than 42% of the devices analyzed do not meet the system requirements to accommodate Windows 11.
Clearly, as we have pointed out many times, Microsoft has decided to abandon hundreds of millions of computers around the world. If Windows 10 is currently the recommended environment, it is not eternal. Its life expectancy is limited with a very close deadline for professionals. It will be officially discontinued in October 2025.
Going back to Lansweeper’s report, device compatibility was for CPU, RAM, and TPM. Only 57.26% of devices meet the processor requirements set by Microsoft. This means that 42.76% of the park is not eligible. Note that the 0.02% difference is not explained.
For RAM, the balance is more positive with 92.85% of eligible devices (4 GB of RAM). Interestingly, more than 7% of devices run on less than 4GB!. Finally, the requirement for a secure platform module (TPM) is satisfied in 64.57% of the workstations tested. If we look at virtual machine workstations, CPU compatibility sits at 55.7% while RAM and TPM drop to 67.1% and 1.33% respectively.
Windows 11, a very low market share
Windows 11’s market share is only 2.61% of all 30 million devices analyzed. This is only 1.09% more than that of Windows 8 and 1.32% of Windows XP. Windows 11 can’t match Windows 7’s 3.38% and falls far behind Windows 10’s 81.87% market share.
Historically, large enterprises take time to upgrade their IT environments. History shows that the release of the first Service Pack is often the time when migration is considered. These days Service Packs no longer exist, we are dealing with feature updates.
The Windows 11 System Requirements is a major factor limiting the speed of adoption of Windows 11. These figures show, and it is not surprising, that a significant number of devices cannot be upgraded. These PCs only have five possibilities for the future
- Continue to use their version of Windows,
- Adopt Windows 11 by bypassing the hardware requirements imposed by Microsoft,
- Undergo a major upgrade if possible to Windows 11,
- To be abandoned against new equipment,
- Abandon the Microsoft universe for an alternative OS like a Linux distribution.