As we help business customers at every step of their IT support journey, from choosing the right hardware to onboarding, installations, updates and ongoing security interventions, we have learned a lot about what customers want from their IT equipment, as well as what they do not want.
These are typically known as “pain points” and much like physical pain in the body, their intensity can range from a dull annoyance to utterly debilitating, forcing a company to look elsewhere for devices and software which actually meet their needs.
According to Windows Central, the primary focus of the Microsoft Windows operating system this year will be to address pain points, but what are the biggest problems that business users deal with on a day-to-day basis?
Every user is unique, as are their needs and frustrations with their IT tools, but here are five of the biggest pain points and why they matter.
Why Does A Lack Of Transparency Matter For Business Users?
Over the last few months, the biggest debate amongst users of Windows has involved the increased incorporation of large language model (LLMs, often known as generative AI) tools into Windows under the brand name Copilot.
The problem is not just that the applications and functions within existing office suites are not useful to everyone, but that there is little control or transparency over when they take effect.
Both users and tech support teams alike need to know what features are being used where, what access they have to potentially sensitive data, and how they can be turned off completely.
Many of the AI-based integrations, in particular, appeared to be developed not for the benefit of users but based on Microsoft’s long-term ambitions to develop an “agentic OS”, or one that was interacted with via AI agents rather than through a direct user interface.
Microsoft has stated its willingness to change and rehabilitate the image of Windows, but the first step towards that will involve being clear about how business data is used and giving users control over their systems again.
Why Does Windows Need To Use Its Memory More Efficiently?
A somewhat related, albeit far wider issue is how slow and bloated Windows can feel at times. Windows 11 needs a lot of RAM to run effectively.
The problem is that RAM has become profoundly more expensive, according to Tom’s Hardware, in no small part thanks to an aggressive focus on AI.
Thankfully, because some of the problems are caused by software inefficiency and bloatware, it is a potentially fixable issue through updates to core system features.
Why Does Windows Fail To Respect Its Users’ Settings?
Microsoft Windows has a long history of failing to respect the needs and preferences of its users, with Windows 11 prioritising a unified experience over the needs of individual users.
The inability to adjust the taskbar size and position was a criticism of the OS from the moment it launched, as was the inability to remove system components such as Edge and Copilot.
What made this worse, however, was that even when users alter the default web browser and search engine via the user settings, many Start menu features will default to using Microsoft’s preferred options.
For example, using the Start menu search bar to search the web will always use Bing, and clicking on any option that takes you to a web page will use Microsoft Edge rather than your default web browser (such as Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox).
Some users have gotten around this using third-party Start menus, but this is a complex and excessive fix for a simple issue.
Why Is Windows’ Aggressive Advertising Policy A Problem For Business Users?
Microsoft Windows has featured built-in advertising functionality since at least Windows 8, but Windows 10 saw an aggressive expansion of the advertising policy, which has become a problem for business users.
The system is filled with upsell offers for features many business users do not need, and the news widget available by default is filled with distracting advertising, frustrating some users who need a new feed for their work or rely on particular information it provides.
The advertising can be turned off, but it typically requires every individual advertising component to be turned off separately.
Why Is Instability Such A Problem For Windows 11 Users?
The year 2026 has seen a considerable number of serious bugs and issues relative to previous years that have prevented business users from accessing applications, checking emails and undertaking routine business tasks, and even causing issues logging into their computers.
An unreliable tool is worse than a bad one, and businesses have increasingly relied on their tech support teams to ensure that their computers can be safely used following updates.
Another issue has been the Controlled Feature Rollout system, where new features will be installed through updates but not implemented until weeks later, sometimes without warning.
This compounds the trust issues some users have, and because of the increased number of variables with Windows Update, it could potentially contribute to the increased number of bugs and exploits, which themselves require emergency patches.