The US Department of Defense (DoD) recently directed all US DoD agencies to begin rapid deployment of Windows 10 with the goal of completing the upgrade of 4 million seats to Windows 10 within a year, according to a Microsoft blog written by Yusuf Mehdi, Corporate Vice President of Microsoft’s Windows and Devices Group.
Impacting devices ranging from desktops to laptops and mobile devices, this deployment marks an unprecedented move for an organisation of its size and complexity, and is the largest enterprise Windows 10 deployment announced to date.
As the US DoD is a prime target for cybercriminals around the world, its leaders understand the importance of securing its baseline systems. This deployment underscores the ability of Windows 10 to help improve DoD’s cybersecurity infrastructure, lower the cost of IT and streamline the IT operating environment.
The DoD’s intention to move to Windows 10 began in earnest in November when Terry Halvorsen, CIO for the DoD, issued a memo directing all Combatant Commands, Services Agencies and Field Activities to rapidly deploy Windows 10 to improve the Department’s cybersecurity, lower the cost of IT and streamline the IT operating environment.
Terry Halvorsen, CIO for the DoD, shared that more tools were needed for automated cyber defense, highlighting significant security challenges to the DoD networks. Halvorsen singled out software integration as a challenge to his mission and was quoted as saying, “If you have an impending need to survive you will innovate,” adding that DoD networks are “getting shot at” virtually every day. With the DoD spending approximately $38 billion annually on cybersecurity and IT, Halvorsen said the DoD needed to deploy innovation faster to ensure systems are more secure, more efficient and cost-effective, and standardized on one platform.