Defra’s overall investment totaled £312 million during the current spending review cycle and was intended to remove outdated platforms, retiring Windows 7 hardware and supporting essential national services, including flood systems and border operations.
According to Defra’s submission to Parliament, the program eliminated more than 31,000 legacy laptops, addresses a large backlog of vulnerabilities, and even closed one data center, with several more set for decommissioning over the coming years.
Defra did not confirm whether it intends to pay Microsoft for extended support, leaving open the possibility that the department’s refreshed estate may soon fall behind again.
There was a time where this would make me irrationally annoyed. I don’t even know why anymore.
😮💨 You’re 100% correct. RHEL would definitely be the path forward here. Interestingly though I’m reminded of this story from a over a decade ago. Not sure where they are now.