Microsoft has announced that it's extending support for enterprise editions of Windows 10 for an additional six months as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
The delay has been scheduled for the Enterprise, Education, and IoT Enterprise editions of the operating system, Microsoft said, all of which were due to reach 'end of service' in November this year.
Microsoft announced that, as a result of businesses deferring updates as a result of mass remote working, the final security update for Windows 10 version 1803 will be now be released on 11 May 2021.
Security updates for the OS will be available through Windows Update, Windows Server Update Services, and the Microsoft Update Catalog. Microsoft says that businesses do not need to change their current update management workflows to receive the updates.
Principal program manager of communications at Microsoft, Chris Morrissey, said: "We have heard your feedback and understand your need to focus on business continuity in the midst of the global pandemic.
"As a result, we have decided to delay the scheduled end-of-service date for the Enterprise, Education, and IoT Enterprise editions of Windows 10, version 1803."
While the Enterprise, Education and IoT Enterprise editions of Windows 10 version 1803 will be getting an extension to their end of service date, the Home and Pro editions of this version of the operating system reached their end of service date back in November 2019.
Next year looks set to be a busy one for IT administrations, as a number of other major Microsoft products will also reach their end of support in 2021. This includes multiple versions of Windows 10, including 1809 (Enterprise, Education, IoT Enterprise) and 1909 (Home, Pro, Pro Education, Pro for Workstations).
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