Quick answer up front: for part of your workstations, Linux is a serious option now that Windows 10 is done, and for another part it’s a bad idea — and the difference isn’t about ideology, but about three very concrete questions. Answer them honestly and you spare yourself both the rushed hardware purchase and the expensive migration debacle.
The trigger is real: Microsoft ended support for Windows 10 on 14 October 2025. There’s still a paid program for further security updates (ESU) as a bridge, but it gets more expensive year over year and runs out after a few years — a grace period, not a permanent state. At the same time, many perfectly working devices fail the hardware requirements of Windows 11. The pressure to “just buy new” is deliberate.
Where does a switch really pay off?
The clearest case is standardised workstations: browser, mail, office basics, video calls. Someone who spends the day in a browser and a handful of standard programs barely notices a difference under a modern Linux — and the old hardware that Windows 11 refuses runs on for years. That extends the lifespan instead of scrapping a cupboard full of usable machines. If you’re already thinking about alternatives to Microsoft 365 anyway, you can answer both questions in one go.
Just as uncontested is Linux where nobody looks anyway: on servers and in infrastructure. Most of the internet has always run on it — and anyone who runs their own services does so on Linux practically without exception.
When does a Linux switch go wrong?
Before anyone shouts “then we’ll switch everything”, three questions where a yes stops the switch for the workstation in question:
- Do you depend on Windows-only professional software? Industry-specific tools, tax and inventory systems, CAD, specialised ERP screens — a lot of it exists only for Windows, and emulation is often more hassle than saving in daily use.
- Do you need special hardware with Windows drivers? Label printers, point-of-sale systems, measuring devices, lab hardware. If the manufacturer only ships Windows drivers, the device decides, not the opinion.
- Are you stuck in deep office workflows with macros? An Excel landscape grown over years, full of macros and add-ins, rarely runs cleanly in LibreOffice on the first try. It can be solved, but not overnight.
If one of these applies, it doesn’t mean “Linux won’t work”. It means this one workstation stays on Windows for now, while the rest can switch.
What does Munich’s LiMux project teach?
Whenever Linux in business comes up, the Munich LiMux project shows up as a conversation-ender: “they gave up on it too.” But the retreat had less to do with the technology than with politics, half-hearted support and a migration imposed on people from above.
The real lesson is a different one: a mixed setup is normal, not a failure. The standard workstations switch, the three special cases stay on Windows for now, and nobody has to force a whole company under one roof on principle. That sober split is the decision, not the grand all-or-nothing — it just needs someone who keeps both worlds maintained afterwards instead of leaving them to themselves.
Want to know which part of your workstations can switch and which is better left alone? Get in touch — we sort it by your programs and your hardware, soberly and without migration romance.