What is our primary use case?
My primary use case of Windows is to run VMware. We have migrated about 47,000 machines in the environment, all of which are using Windows 10.
How has it helped my organization?
In Microsoft, in general, it's easy to configure the AD Group Policy and the exchange server. Previously, I was working with on-prem, and the PowerShell command is flawless. In our organization, Publisher and AD Group Policy have been beneficial. Also, if you want to switch over to using VMware at the same time, you can switch it.
What is most valuable?
One of the most valuable features is the ease of multitasking. It's easy to switch over different applications and multitasking is very free and flawless. Another useful feature is the ability to recover any data from a crash. Multiple benchmarking applications are supported by Windows, which isn't the case with Linux. So in case you need an application, you can Google it, find it, and easily install it. The user experience is also good. If you have the SSD installed in the laptop or machine, it will start like a boom. Windows is always ahead.
What needs improvement?
Windows 10 could be improved by providing a data recovery application default. This is the most critical thing I have ever figured out in my career. If you accidentally deleted the data from the machine—the local machine—there is no way to get it back unless you install a third-party application. When your machine is connected to an IP domain, sometimes you won't be able to install a third-party application because it becomes a compliance issue, so you can get in trouble. Windows 10 should provide a data recovery solution.
For additional features, I would like Windows to come with a powerful video editor. If I am developing a presentation or something, I have to find it myself somewhere. If you want to put in GI for any kind of video and do a presentation, it's pretty difficult to open a video, edit it, or do anything. If you have a video, you can simply add it, right? But there's no Microsoft in-house product for that—we have to use Adobe Photoshop or something. There are just some little, very small features that, if Microsoft added, would make life easier.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Windows 10 since I started my career. This is the default machine in India—the first OS is Windows, then Linux, and then Unix.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Windows 10 is stable. Unless there are any hardware issues or any bugs in an update, Windows performs perfectly. Any patches and updates are directly handled by the SCCM team, and they test it before deploying it. If there are any bugs or if anything is compromised, they will fix it. They won't upload it to the server unless and until it's 110% perfect.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Windows 10 is easy to scale. We have 47,000 to 48,000 users working on Windows 10, and we have an onboarding team to help them understand how things work, what the policies are, and what the dos and don'ts are.
How are customer service and support?
Three or four years ago, I contacted Microsoft support. I had a problem with OneDrive, which is a product of Microsoft, so they fixed it. They took six to seven days to get my OneDrive completely back. The experience was wonderful and my problem was resolved.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We previously worked with Windows 7—the most stable version of the millennium, we called it. It's flawless. That's the word for Windows 7: flawless. Once Windows 10 appeared in the market, it was a little buggy with application updates and packaging. Now, they have stabilized things.
Windows 7's boot time was much longer than Windows 10, so the UI experience was not too good. You can't install Windows 7 on the touch laptop because it won't give you the 110% exact feel of the touch panel. If you're using a Yoga kind of product—where you have the laptop and you can detach the screen, which then becomes your tablet—you can't use Windows 7. Windows 10 has features for tablet mode.
How was the initial setup?
The process is really, really straightforward. If you have a bootable hard drive, it might take more than 15 to 18 minutes. If someone is deploying it from the local site—not from the server—it's a fairly smooth and flawless process. Most of the instructions are on-screen and it will prompt you to do everything. It's easy to understand because the UI feature is really awesome and built smoothly. A newbie can do it easily. Nothing is in the backend or encrypted within the commands. It's purely simple and easy to deploy locally.
I have 17 people in the SCCM team who developed the OS as per the organization policies and what we call a golden image. In a project, if a client wants a Cisco AnyConnect VPN, that has to be implanted into the same OS. So they have their labs and they develop it with their security, firewalls, everything. Everything is synchronized from there in the labs, and then it is deployed.
What about the implementation team?
We implemented through an in-house team.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Windows 10 has multiple versions—Home, Home Premium, and Enterprise—so the pricing will be different for each version. The pricing is okay and if they're getting sold out, that means people are buying it. I must say, it's a monopoly, but I really like the way Microsoft fits into the monopoly.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Windows 10 an eight and a half out of ten, just because I have some requirements for improvement, such as the data recovery and video editing screen.
Windows 10 is easy on the eyes because it has a dark mode feature. We work 16, 17, 18 hours on our laptop—I call it a second wife, because it is sometimes. We have 24 hours in a day, but we spend hours of it on the machine. You should use dark mode and lower the brightness to your liking, and continue your work. You will feel better.
*Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
