The business computer and IT systems that have formed the foundation for companies like yours for nearly half a century are currently reshaping themselves into a form that is almost unrecognisable.
Thanks to VisiCalc, the world’s first spreadsheet that personal computers could use, your computers have been built on roughly the same skeleton since 1981.
However, this fundamental set of building blocks may, if a report by Windows Central is accurate, be changing drastically, whether business or home users want it or not.
The aggressive push to “agentic computing” has created a quandary for IT services and businesses alike.
Whilst some have invested heavily in AI and agentic computing and see it as the future of their business even if the present is costly and time-consuming, others are far more wary.
With 404 Media reporting that an internal document claimed the plan for its upcoming Scout assistant is to “make people addicted”, some businesses, organisations and even nations are looking for a way to opt out.
Does your next computer have to use Microsoft Windows and the application suite formerly known as Microsoft Office? Absolutely not, and to explain why, here are some reasons why your next IT system may not be built like the last.
Why Might Your Business Want To Avoid Microsoft Windows In The Future?
Many businesses were reluctant to switch from Windows 10 to Windows 11, in no small part because doing so meant expensive hardware upgrades, undesired changes to the interface and major software processes, and overall performance issues.
There are countless problems why businesses are thinking of moving away from Windows entirely, but here are some of the biggest.
Unavoidable AI Integration
These issues have been compounded and potentially even caused by an aggressive pivot towards integrating large language models and other forms of AI integration, often doing so without asking for consent from users in the process.
Given there are major financial consequences to a reliance on AI agents, known as tokenmaxxing, particularly for companies that have set aggressive targets for their use, Windows’ changes are somewhat unwelcome.
Despite the cries from evangelists that “AI is inevitable”, many businesses have no need for it and would in fact risk serious legal liability in certain cases, as has been seen with Google’s AI search in Germany.
Digital Sovereignty
A major driving force behind a lot of movements away from Windows is data control and digital sovereignty, following the lead of the country of France in the case of the latter.
Given the legal grey area surrounding data protection and the mindless scraping of AI training data, this issue has become particularly vital, especially for businesses who have no use for any form of AI and thus find its integration to be a hazard rather than a help.
As people are increasingly aware of the power of spyware, bloat and its tangible effects on people and the environment, the argument for moving away gets stronger.
Avoiding Planned Obsolescence
One of the biggest reasons why businesses are avoiding Windows is simply that they saw no reason to change and upgrade, given the massive costs involved.
This was the impetus behind the “End of 10” initiative, an initiative that encourages businesses and customers to keep their hardware capable of running Windows 10, particularly if they have run business software without any issues up to that point.
Whilst most businesses will operate a rotating cycle of upgrades, the discontinuation of Windows 10 caused a lot of disruption and companies are looking elsewhere.
What Options Are Available If You Want To Avoid Using Microsoft Windows?
Whilst there were historically few alternatives for Microsoft Windows and Office, this is no longer necessarily the case; some pieces of software are already being widely used.
Here are some examples and why they might be the right option for you.
Apple MacOS
The consistent alternative to Windows since the 1990s, Apple’s hardware has continued to be sold and supplied, and whilst it has traditionally been used by the graphic design and publishing sectors, iMacs, MacBooks and Mac Minis do see use in other business fields.
The only major cost is the price of admission; Apple hardware is infamously expensive and not every business is willing to pay the price to switch every laptop to a MacBook.
Linux
From the simplicity and familiarity of Mint and Fedora, to more complex and specialised distributions, Linux is a particularly broad family of computer systems that can be tweaked and altered around any need.
The biggest advantage is that there is a distro that will work on anything and for any need, but whilst Linux is far friendlier now than its reputation suggests, it can still take some getting used to for people who have only ever known Windows.