Jacob Chew
Microsoft Product and Licensing Specialist
Having waved goodbye to Windows 7, it’s time to get excited about what Windows 10 has to offer. We’ve been looking forward to this moment for a while thanks to all the benefits it offers organisations, so to celebrate this momentous occasion, we’ve pulled together our top five favourite features of Windows 10.
Our 5 Favourite Features of Windows 10
1. Windows Hello
Windows Hello is Microsoft’s new biometric logon feature that uses facial, fingerprint, or iris recognition for a smooth and seamless logon over password input. Not only is Windows Hello three times faster at logging in, there is also less risk of users losing or forgetting passwords. Windows Hello featured in a product demo at Microsoft’s Ignite conference, in which a normal Surface device was logged in from a cold boot in only 12 seconds! We’re excited about the time-saving benefits that organisations are going to see, as well as the increased security of biometric recognition as people are becoming their own passwords.
2. Windows Autopilot
Autopilot is another feature that will save you time as well as money. New devices are configured directly on receipt by the user removing the need for a trip to the IT department first. A combination of Intune, Azure Active Directory Premium, and Windows 10 Pro, Autopilot enables a device to be deployed and business-ready, simply through the user entering their AD credentials. All the relevant profiles, policies and applications are applied, and the device is ready to use. This is a great feature for satellite workers, mobile workers and is also useful for repurposing existing devices as no infrastructure is needed to deliver a ready-to-use device to each user.
3. Cortana
Microsoft’s virtual assistant, Cortana, is not a new aspect of Windows 10, but the updated version comes with some shiny new features. As well as reading your emails aloud and reminding you of meetings, Cortana will now schedule your meetings for you. Instead of manually trawling through attendees’ calendars, trying to find a mutually convenient date and time, Cortana sorts it, including your accounts across applications, such as LinkedIn and Gmail. This is something all office workers can appreciate, and will increase productivity, not to mention reducing frustration in your teams.
4. Security
Cyber Security is one of our four IT priorities, and the Softcat Business Technology Report stated that 83% of industries ranked this as their top priority: this is front of mind for most IT Professionals. We are a Gold Microsoft Partner for Security, therefore we have additional understanding of how Microsoft products can ensure our customers are secure. Windows Hello, Windows Sandbox and an improved Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection have launched Microsoft into the top right of the Gartner magic quadrant, setting themselves up as leaders in security with Windows 10 being the most secure OS to date. This is the first time we’ve seen Microsoft in this position, and it gives us a renewed confidence in their security technology. It confirms that the research and development they’ve been working on is showing results and we are looking forward to seeing what comes next.
5. Focus Assist
How often during the working day are you distracted by emails or messages that come in, pinging, buzzing and taking focus away from the task at hand? Focus Assist in Windows 10 turns off all notifications, screening everything coming into your device. You can then focus on the project you’re working on more efficiently and effectively. Once you’re ready, Focus Assist gives you a timeline of all the notifications that arrived while you were busy, so you can go through them all in order. This is such a helpful tool to improve productivity and prevent distraction. It apparently takes 23 minutes to focus again and get back into work after a distraction*, so this feature promises to be an essential tool in the Windows 10 toolbox.
Get In Touch
Windows 10 has been announced as the final milestone operating system from Microsoft, so there’ll be no more big releases, therefore they can react much more quickly with timely, incremental changes.
If you’re interested in finding out more about the benefits of Windows 10 please download our Windows 10 Guide here, or are looking to migrate, contact your account manager, or click below.