The Covid-19 pandemic might just revolutionise the way we work in the future. After abruptly moving from in-person office work to remote work in the early days of the pandemic, not everyone is anxious to return to the daily commute. While the majority of employees do want the creativity and collaboration that comes with in-person work, they don’t necessarily want to be there every day.

Does this mean the end of the traditional nine to five? Microsoft clearly thinks so. They claim that Windows 11, their latest operating system, is “the operating system for hybrid work”.

What does Windows 11 for Business bring to the hybrid workplace?

The Covid-19 pandemic might just revolutionise the way we work in the future. After abruptly moving from in-person office work to remote work in the early days of the pandemic, not everyone is anxious to return to the daily commute. While the majority of employees do want the creativity and collaboration that comes with in-person work, they don’t necessarily want to be there every day.

Does this mean the end of the traditional nine to five? Microsoft clearly thinks so. They claim that Windows 11, their latest operating system, is “the operating system for hybrid work”.

Ease of deployment

Traditionally, the upgrade process for Windows users has been pretty painful, often requiring a rebuild of your PC. Upgrading to Windows 11 is designed to be much simpler. Eligible PCs (more on that below) can simply download the upgrade, making it simple to deploy to remote workers.

If you use Windows Update for Business in Intune, it’s a case of creating a feature update deployment and selecting Windows 11 version 21H2, which will upgrade devices in scope to Windows 11.

Enhanced security

One of the biggest challenges with managing a remote workforce has been the difficulty of trying to secure a multitude of devices that are not necessarily kept on-premises. With cybercriminals using increasingly sophisticated methods for infiltrating computer networks, IT departments have been faced with a headache of migraine proportions. So, for IT managers, the most exciting improvement with Windows 11 will no doubt be the significantly upgraded security features.

One of the ways Microsoft has increased security is by raising the hardware requirements substantially, with new protections added at a chip and cloud level.

For instance, computer chips will need to be 8th generation or later and support virtualisation based security (VBS). In addition, PCs must be capable of Secure Boot. Secure Boot only allows approved operating systems to boot up and prevents malware from taking over your computer before the operating system loads.

Another requirement for running Windows 11 is a Trusted Platform Module (TPM 2.0), a computer chip that is designed to provide strong, hardware-based security protections to your device. According to Microsoft, these hardware requirements have reduced malware by 60%.

Goodbye to passwords

One of the biggest weaknesses in cyber security has been the problem with passwords. Despite endless reminders not to use easily guessable passwords or reuse passwords across multiple sites, many people still do, which has made them a prime target for cyber attackers. With Windows Hello for Business, Microsoft is moving on to biometrics-based security such as fingerprints, iris and face lock. It’s worth noting here that Windows Hello for Business hasn’t changed much, if at all, with Windows 11.

Improved multitasking with Snap Assist (Snap Layouts and Snap Groups)

One of the most useful – and time-saving – improvements in Windows 11 is the introduction of snap layouts, making multitasking across multiple applications much easier to manage. Snap layouts allows you to have up to four windows in view at any one time, with six different layouts to choose from. For example, if you were researching for a paper, you could have Word in one larger window, with Chrome in another smaller window, and your calendar in a third window. It’s easy to access Snap Layouts: hover your mouse over the maximize button and choose your layout.

Once you have created your Snap Layout, if you head down to the taskbar you will see your layout saved as a Snap Group. Conveniently, you can minimize or maximize the entire group in one click – no more maximizing and minimizing one window at a time.

Furthermore, when reconnecting a device to an external monitor, you can use Snap Groups to restore all windows to their previous orientation, saving time and allowing you to continue working seamlessly.

Easy collaboration with Chat from Microsoft Teams

With its Teams icon front and centre in the taskbar, it looks like Microsoft is banking on video conferencing and chat continuing to be a central part of the post-pandemic world. Launched with a single click, Teams allows users to chat, share screens and video chat with no device or platform restrictions. You can even text someone on their mobile phone.

Other features include being able to mute and unmute from the taskbar, and an intelligent noise cancelling and auto blur feature to remove potential distractions in the background. However, these features only apply to Teams personal, not Teams for Work or School accounts.

Notable Improvements

The new search bar is significantly more comprehensive. It’s integrated with the start menu and even has a ‘recommended’ section area with your email attachments, files you’ve opened from SharePoint, from Teams, and just everything that you’ve been working on.

  • You can actually search across your computer, OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams, Outlook, and so on, provided you are logged in with Azure AD.
  • Improved multiple desktop support. Desktops are full dual screens so you can click on a different background and open up the one document you want to work on, as well as any references you need for that.
  • Deep Teams integration.
  • A better autopilot diagnostics page
  • Power automate is built into Windows 11

The Final Verdict

Windows has always been the most popular operating system (OS) since its inception. This is due to the wide range of hardware compatibility. The update includes a new user interface, a redesigned Start menu, an overhauled Microsoft Store, Widgets, Microsoft Teams integration, and lots more.

It’s an exciting update with a fresh coat of paint and some great integrations, to help your business run more efficiently.

We’ve already worked with many Irish businesses on their Windows 11 migrations, and we’d love to help you too.