Windows 11: What you need to know

In the summer of 2021, Windows 11 was announced and released later that year. As usual with Windows updates, it is available for free if you already have Windows 10 installed. If your business is still looking for a switch up in its operating system or simply hasn’t made the upgrade yet, we recommend you do now!

To get your business ready for the update, the team at totality services wanted to give you an overview of Windows 11. In this guide we share what to expect, the features, and the system requirements. We have even provided a reference on how to register to get early access, in case you wanted to set up a pilot group to test out this brand-new experience (also helpful for future Windows updates).

Windows 11 features

User Interface

Let’s start off with the most noticeable change: the user interface (UI). Windows 11 has a much cleaner, almost glassy look with rounded corners. Also, the Start menu, along with the taskbar, are now placed in the centre.

Snap Layouts and Snap Groups

The next two new features are perfect for improving your business’ productivity: snap layouts and snap groups.

Snap layouts lets you have multiple windows open at the same time. You can even rearrange and resize these screens to work the way you’re most comfortable with, making multitasking so much smoother. Snap groups function to remember the apps that you usually work with and allows you to quickly relaunch them.

Microsoft Teams Integration

For those organisations using Microsoft Teams, the experience is now preloaded within the operating system itself. Teams is now prominently placed in the taskbar, allowing you to quickly create and join meetings. You even have the option to mute, unmute and even share screens from the taskbar as well.

Android Applications

Microsoft has also now made Android apps to be able to be natively run on the Windows operating systems. You do need to install the Amazon App Store onto your windows device, but after that it lets you download Android applications. This is particularly useful if you have installed certain business apps on your phone, as you can now run it directly from your computer. Note that this feature only works if your mobile is Android too.

Windows 11 Security

Microsoft describes Windows 11 as “zero trust ready”. This is perhaps the most important thing to note about the operating system. Malware prevention, hardware-based isolation, and encryption are all turned on by default.

The Microsoft team also state that they’ll make it easier to go ‘passwordless’ for businesses by simplifying the Windows Hello for Business deployment. However, this secure experience comes with a caveat, and to understand this we need to get into the system requirements.

System Requirements for Windows 11

As shown below, here are the general requirements:

 

 

Most of it is pretty much standard at this point, however, notice that the TPM section says Trusted Platform Module version 2. So essentially if you don’t have TPM version 2 – which a lot of computers older than four years generally don’t have – your computer will not be able to run Windows 11.

You can purchase TPM 2.0 separately and replace your current TPM module. But this may also depend on whether the motherboard or central processing unit (CPU) supports these TPM capabilities.

If you want to check whether your computer has TPM 2.0, just head over to your Windows search, type in TPM.MSC. This should let you know your version. If it says 1.0 then you won’t be able to run Windows 11. And, if it says you don’t have a TPM installed, you can still go into your BIOS (basic input/output system) and check if it’s available. This is because some computers have it turned off by default. You can also run the PC health check provided by Microsoft to check if your computer meets the requirements to run Windows 11.

Early Access to Windows 11

In order to get early access to Windows 11, you need to sign up for the insider programme. This is very simple. Just go into Settings – Update – Security, and you should have a section called the Windows Insider programme. Follow the steps provided and you should be able to get the Windows 11 update once Microsoft releases it to the insiders.

If you are a totality services client don’t worry about early access for Windows updates. We will always get in touch with you regarding any Windows upgrades. If you would like a free consultation regarding your operating system, or simply want to find out more about our leading IT services please contact our team today!