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Upgrading to Windows 11? Check For Tech Support First!

12/13/2021

 
Windows 11 debuted to the public on October 5. So far, most of the upgrades to Microsoft’s newest desktop operating system have proceeded smoothly. Yet, that does not translate into a blanket “go for it” policy for accounting and financial professionals. Therefore, as discussed below, we urge caution before upgrading to Windows 11 due to technical support availability.

Availability of Technical Support is Critical

As every business professional knows, ensuring the availability of technical support for all essential line-of-business (LOB) applications is critical. Notably, without tech support, how can a business get back up and running quickly if an application runs slowly or crashes? Therefore, situations such as these require that technical support is available for all critical applications.

To illustrate, imagine a public accounting firm attempting to generate tax returns during the height of tax season. In that environment, time is of the essence! Assume the firm upgraded to Windows 11, but their tax software publisher did not support the software in that environment. How would the firm complete all necessary tax returns if the tax software frequently crashed? Further, would the firm be able to file extension requests electronically on behalf of its clients? For such reasons, before you upgrade, please verify that the publishers of your critical applications support them on Windows 11.

A Sampling of Accounting-Oriented Applications Supported on Windows 11

Of course, not all Windows applications presently offer technical support if you install the application on a Windows 11-based computer. To illustrate, consider the table below. It shows the system requirements published by each company as a proxy for the availability of technical support. Specifically, you will note the simple fact that many publishers do not yet support their software on Windows 11. Of course, this information can change quickly. Therefore, you should verify the availability of technical support in Windows 11 environments with your software publishers.
Application
Supported on Windows 11?
Click for More Information
CCH ProSystem fx Tax Software 2021
No
ProSystem fx
Drake 2021 Tax Software
Yes
Drake
Intuit Lacerte 2021 Tax Software
Yes
Lacerte
Intuit ProSeries 2021 Tax Software
Yes
ProSeries
Intuit QuickBooks 2022 Desktop
No
QuickBooks
Sage 50cloud Accounting
No
Sage 50cloud
Spire Desktop
No
Spire
Thomson Reuters UltraTax 2021 Tax Software
No
UltraTax

Fortunately, there are many similarities between Windows 11 and Windows 10. Therefore, it is improbable that most users will experience any problems when running unsupported software on Windows 11. However, can you afford to take that chance? Keep in mind, if you run any unsupported applications on Windows 11, you will likely be on your own for technical support. Moreover, you may even find that you need to roll back to Windows 10 – a time-consuming and unpleasant task!

Summary

Just over six weeks since its introduction, Windows 11 generally receives very high marks for compatibility, speed, and security.  Accordingly, these accolades may tempt many into wanting to upgrade as soon as the opportunity presents itself. Obviously, for many, that can be a good decision. However, for those who need to run software not yet supported in a Windows 11 environment, the upgrade could be very costly in terms of slow processing, downtime, and technical support. Therefore, although we are generally bullish on Windows 11, check for the availability of technical support on your critical applications before you choose to upgrade.

You can learn more about Windows 11 and other technologies by participating in a K2 Enterprises training session. 

Tommy Stephens


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    Authors


    Ward Blatch
    Ward provides consulting and training services as the Managing Director of K2E Canada Inc. He joined K2E Canada in 2005 and is responsible for the Canadian operations of this international consulting group, which provides professional development technology education for accountants across Canada and the US. Ward lives in rural Nova Scotia and can be reached at ward@k2e.ca.

    Tommy Stephens
    Tommy is one of the shareholders in K2 Enterprises, affiliating with the Firm in 2003 and joining as a shareholder in 2017. At K2, Tommy focuses on creating and delivering content and is responsible for many of the Firm's management and marketing functions. Tommy resides in the metro Atlanta area. You may reach him at tommy@k2e.com.

    Randy Johnson
    Randy is a nationally recognized educator, consultant, and writer with over 40 years experience in Strategic Technology Planning, Accounting Software Selection, Paperless, Systems and Network Integration, Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Planning, Business Development and Management, Process Engineering and outsourced managed services. Randy can be reached at randy@k2e.com


    Bernie Smith
    Bernie coaches businesses to develop meaningful KPIs and present their management information in the clearest possible way to support good decision making. As the owner of Made to Measure KPIs, he has worked with major organisations including HSBC, Airbus, UBS, Barclays, Credit Suisse, Lloyds and many more.

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