Windows 10 Mobile: End of Support

With the news of Microsoft ending support for Windows 10 Mobile, I imagine mobility engineers, wireless analyst, and corporate security scrambling to plan and execute a new device deployment.

From Microsoft Support's Windows 10 Mobile End of Support FAQ page:

What does end of support mean for customers?

End of support means there will be no more product or security updates for the Windows 10 Mobile operating system (OS). [...] After the end of support, automatic or manual creation of new device backups for settings and some applications will continue for 3 months, ending March 10, 2020. Some services including photo uploads and restoring a device from an existing device backup may continue to work for up to another 12 months from end of support.

What should Windows 10 Mobile customers do now?

With the Windows 10 Mobile OS end of support, we recommend that customers move to a supported Android or iOS device. Microsoft’s mission statement to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more, compels us to support our Mobile apps on those platforms and devices.

 So... iPhone or Android?

NOT BOTH! As much as I love my Android device, I really enjoy deploying iPhone / iOS in the enterprise. If your users are coming from the Window's Mobile tile desktop, I believe it will be easy to convert them to iOS. Do not use this opportunity to become a mixed usage policy... unless you have the staffing and plan to create new documentation.

Egnyte, a SaaS provider that delivers secure content collaboration, compliant data protection, and simple infrastructure modernization, crunched some data on its enterprise users and created a useful infographic.

Hopefully, if you are in this situation, you are using Intune or another EMM. This will make your transition/deployment easier!

I would recommend reaching out you Business sales of a smartphone manufacturer or CDW to assist with rollouts You could also contact your wireless carrier to see if they offer any deployment assistance.

If you are thinking about Android, check out Google's recommended devices for the enterprise.