{"url":"https://www.servnetuk.com/research/windows-server-2016-end-of-life-uk-public-sector-2026","study":"public-sector-windows-eol-2026","title":"Windows Server 2016 and Windows 10 end of support: what UK public bodies' own FOI answers show","built":"2026-09-19","builder":"data/research/public-sector-windows-eol-2026/_coding/publish_aggregates.py","publication":{"status":"publishable","clearedOn":"2026-09-19","textDatedFor":"2026-09-19","prePublicationChecks":["Exemption figures are limited to codings verifiable from stored quotes (FIXES-2.md sections 4 and 8). Not published until the listed records are re-checked at source: IT2024 section 43; IT2024 section 24; IT2024 'no section cited'; IT2023 section 31; IT2023 section 24; IT2023 'no section cited'; EOL2025 section 31; EOL2025 section 24; W7XP2021 section 31; W7XP2021 section 43. Published restricted to the codings shown in stored quotes (a lower bound): IT2024 section 31.","Dated wording ('ends' or 'ended') is generated for the text date 2026-09-19. Rebuild with --pub-date set to the actual publication date before release; the build fails if a future-tense verb precedes a date that has passed. Dates after the text date that the wording depends on: 13 Oct 2026, 12 Jan 2027, 9 Jan 2029, 13 Nov 2029, 14 Oct 2031, 14 Nov 2034."]},"minN":5,"aggregateOnly":true,"licence":{"aggregates":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","note":"Derived aggregate tables (lib JSON cells, CSV) are published under CC BY 4.0. The underlying Freedom of Information responses remain the public bodies' information (copyright stays with each body or the Crown) and are not republished."},"method":{"summary":"Source: Freedom of Information responses from UK public bodies, published online. The requests were made by other people, not by Servnet. Servnet read the published requests and the bodies' replies and coded each body's answers about server operating systems, VMware, Windows 11, Windows 10 and Windows 7/XP against a written codebook. Figures are counts of public bodies, one record per body per batch.","unitOfAnalysis":"One public body per batch. Where a body received two requests in the same batch, the most complete and most recent response is used (IT2023: 87 requests from 84 bodies).","coding":"Every coded value was taken from the body's own published reply (email text, answers typed into the quoted request, or attachments: PDF text layer, DOCX, RTF, DOC). Answers that exist only on a body's own website, portal or disclosure log were not fetched and are counted as 'referred elsewhere'. Family-level answers such as 'Windows Server, Linux' are never read as 'no old versions'.","status":"Response status is judged on the study questions only: exemptions applied to other questions (budgets, contracts, staff names) do not change it. 'Partly answered' means some study questions were answered and others withheld, skipped or referred to a partner.","versionShares":"Version shares use as denominator the bodies that named at least one Windows Server release; a body counts once per release it named. Ranges such as '2012-2022' are expanded to every release in the range; open-ended answers such as '2016 and above' count only the oldest release named.","verification":"Two independent verification passes re-opened random samples of records against the source pages. First pass: a stratified random 20% sample (124 of 616 records); 114 of 124 records (91.9%) were fully correct, about 2% of checked field values were wrong, and nearly all errors were missed answers rather than invented values. A fix pass then re-opened every record whose notes said an answer had not been located or read (plus similar extraction gaps), corrected them, and applied the response-status rule consistently. Second pass: a fresh random 15% sample (95 of 616 records); 90 of 95 records (94.7%) were fully correct and about 1% of checked field values were wrong. The 5 records with a problem were over-coding (a hardware vendor coded as a hypervisor, two exemption lists that included sections the body had not applied to the study questions, and a misread Windows XP answer) and one answer that gave both an instance and a device count. A second fix pass corrected the over-coding and wrote rules, applied to every similar record, for hypervisors named only as a platform vendor, VMware answers that rule out a move for a stated period, which exemptions are recorded, and answers giving both instance and device counts; the one figure that the instance-or-device question affected (the 2021 Windows 7 median) was withdrawn. No Windows Server release coding changed in either pass. After the second pass, 'named a release older than 2016' counts only bodies that named such a release, and the median Windows 7 count for 2021 is no longer published.","suppression":"Any count or base below 5 bodies is suppressed and shown as '<5'. In mutually exclusive breakdowns and body-type splits, small groups are merged, or the split is not published, so a suppressed value cannot be worked out by subtraction from a published total.","rounding":"Percentages are rounded to one decimal place and may not sum to 100.","exemptions":"Exemption figures are limited to codings that can be verified from the stored quotes: a section is counted only where the stored extract of the reply shows the body applying it to a study question, so the published section 31 count for 2024-25 is a lower bound, and section counts whose codings could not all be verified this way are not published."},"sources":{"foiResponses":{"description":"Freedom of Information responses from UK public bodies, published online","requestedBy":"Other people, not Servnet. Servnet made none of these requests; it read the published requests and replies and coded the replies.","sampleNote":"Not a random sample: the bodies are those that happened to receive these requests and reply. Some bodies share one IT estate and gave the same answer.","copyright":"Copyright in each response stays with the public authority (or the Crown). This study publishes only aggregate counts derived from many responses and quotes none of them.","batches":[{"code":"IT2024","label":"IT infrastructure requests, November 2024 onwards (270 bodies)","description":"IT infrastructure requests (servers, virtualisation and end-user devices) sent to councils, NHS bodies and other public bodies","sent":"November 2024 to July 2025 (most on 4 and 12 November 2024)","requests":270,"bodies":270,"studyQuestions":["which server operating systems are used","whether VMware is used and whether there is a plan to move away from it","whether the body has moved, or plans to move, to Windows 11","whether the device estate is compatible with Windows 11"]},{"code":"IT2023","label":"IT infrastructure requests, January 2023 to January 2024 (84 bodies)","description":"IT infrastructure requests, mostly to councils, including two on closely related topics","sent":"January 2023 to January 2024 (most August to October 2023)","requests":87,"bodies":84,"studyQuestions":["which server operating systems are used"]},{"code":"EOL2025","label":"End-of-life software and hardware requests, June 2025 (28 bodies)","description":"Requests about unsupported and end-of-life software, hardware and computing equipment, sent to central government, councils, colleges, schools and others","sent":"June 2025 (replies June to August 2025, most in June and July; before Windows 10 end of support)","requests":28,"bodies":28,"studyQuestions":["a list of unsupported or end-of-life software and hardware, including operating systems","the number of devices running Windows 10"]},{"code":"W7XP2021","label":"Windows 7 and Windows XP requests, May 2021 (231 bodies)","description":"Requests about Windows 7 and Windows XP instances, sent to 231 public bodies, mainly councils","sent":"19 May 2021","requests":231,"bodies":231,"studyQuestions":["how many Windows 7 instances or devices are in use","how many Windows XP instances or devices are in use"],"note":"The questions asked for instances and for devices such as kiosks and laptops; answers mix instances, devices and virtual desktop sessions. A second, later round of the same request was not coded."}]},"officialStandard":{"checkedOn":"2026-09-19","note":"Dates as displayed on Microsoft Learn lifecycle pages (Pacific Time).","dates":[{"product":"Windows 10 (Home and Pro; Enterprise and Education), version 22H2","url":"https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/products/windows-10-home-and-pro","url_2":"https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/products/windows-10-enterprise-and-education","end_of_support":"2025-10-14","quote":"Windows 10 Home and Pro | Start Date Jul 29, 2015 | Retirement Date Oct 14, 2025; Version 22H2 | Oct 18, 2022 | Oct 14, 2025 (same retirement date on the Enterprise and Education page)"},{"product":"Windows 10 Extended Security Updates (ESU), commercial","url":"https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/whats-new/extended-security-updates","quote":"Individuals or organizations who elect to continue using Windows 10 after support ends on October 14, 2025, will have the option of enrolling their PCs into a paid ESU subscription.","quote_2":"The price doubles every consecutive year, for a maximum of three years.","note":"The page gives the three-year maximum but no calendar end date for commercial ESU, so no end date is stated in this study. Prices on the page are not used."},{"product":"Windows Server 2012","url":"https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/products/windows-server-2012","mainstream_end":"2018-10-09","extended_end":"2023-10-10","esu_year_3_end":"2026-10-13","quote":"Windows Server 2012 | Oct 30, 2012 | Mainstream End Date Oct 9, 2018 | Extended End Date Oct 10, 2023; Extended Security Update Year 3 | Oct 15, 2025 | Oct 13, 2026","esu_last_year_listed":"Year 3, ending 2026-10-13: no later ESU year is listed on the page (VERIFY-2 re-fetch, 2026-09-19)"},{"product":"Windows Server 2012 R2","url":"https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/products/windows-server-2012-r2","mainstream_end":"2018-10-09","extended_end":"2023-10-10","esu_year_3_end":"2026-10-13","quote":"Windows Server 2012 R2 | Nov 25, 2013 | Mainstream End Date Oct 9, 2018 | Extended End Date Oct 10, 2023; Extended Security Update Year 3 | Oct 15, 2025 | Oct 13, 2026","esu_last_year_listed":"Year 3, ending 2026-10-13: no later ESU year is listed on the page (VERIFY-2 re-fetch, 2026-09-19)"},{"product":"Windows Server 2016","url":"https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/products/windows-server-2016","mainstream_end":"2022-01-11","extended_end":"2027-01-12","quote":"Windows Server 2016 | Oct 15, 2016 | Mainstream End Date Jan 11, 2022 | Extended End Date Jan 12, 2027"},{"product":"Windows Server 2019","url":"https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/products/windows-server-2019","mainstream_end":"2024-01-09","extended_end":"2029-01-09","quote":"Windows Server 2019 | Nov 13, 2018 | Mainstream End Date Jan 9, 2024 | Extended End Date Jan 9, 2029"},{"product":"Windows Server 2022","url":"https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/products/windows-server-2022","mainstream_end":"2026-10-13","extended_end":"2031-10-14","quote":"Windows Server 2022 | Aug 18, 2021 | Mainstream End Date Oct 13, 2026 | Extended End Date Oct 14, 2031"},{"product":"Windows Server 2025","url":"https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/products/windows-server-2025","mainstream_end":"2029-11-13","extended_end":"2034-11-14","quote":"Windows Server 2025 | Nov 1, 2024 | Mainstream End Date Nov 13, 2029 | Extended End Date Nov 14, 2034"},{"product":"Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2","url":"https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/products/windows-server-2008","url_2":"https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/products/windows-server-2008-r2","extended_end":"2020-01-14","esu_year_3_end":"2023-01-10","esu_year_4_azure_only_end":"2024-01-09","quote":"Windows Server 2008 R2 | Oct 22, 2009 | Mainstream End Date Jan 13, 2015 | Extended End Date Jan 14, 2020; Extended Security Update Year 3 | Jan 12, 2022 | Jan 10, 2023; Extended Security Update Year 4 (Azure only) | Jan 11, 2023 | Jan 9, 2024 (same dates on the Windows Server 2008 page)"},{"product":"Windows 7","url":"https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/products/windows-7","mainstream_end":"2015-01-13","extended_end":"2020-01-14","esu_year_3_end":"2023-01-10","quote":"Windows 7 | Oct 22, 2009 | Mainstream End Date Jan 13, 2015 | Extended End Date Jan 14, 2020; Extended Security Update Year 3* | Jan 12, 2022 | Jan 10, 2023","quote_2":"Extended Security Updates (ESU) are available through specific volume licensing programs for Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, and Professional for Embedded Systems editions of this product, for up to an additional three years past the end of support."},{"product":"Windows XP","url":"https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/products/windows-xp","mainstream_end":"2009-04-14","extended_end":"2014-04-08","quote":"Windows XP | Dec 31, 2001 | Mainstream End Date Apr 14, 2009 | Extended End Date Apr 8, 2014"}]}},"responseStatus":{"IT2024":{"bodies":270,"breakdown":[{"group":"answered","n":160,"of":270,"pct":59.3},{"group":"partly answered","n":44,"of":270,"pct":16.3},{"group":"refused (exemption or other refusal)","n":32,"of":270,"pct":11.9},{"group":"no substantive response published","n":17,"of":270,"pct":6.3},{"group":"other (unresolved clarification or hold, supplier-enquiry handling, closed without answer)","n":12,"of":270,"pct":4.4},{"group":"fewer than 5 each (information not held, referred elsewhere (answer not published with the request))","n":5,"of":270,"pct":1.9}]},"IT2023":{"bodies":84,"breakdown":[{"group":"answered","n":50,"of":84,"pct":59.5},{"group":"refused (exemption or other refusal)","n":23,"of":84,"pct":27.4},{"group":"other (unresolved clarification or hold, supplier-enquiry handling, closed without answer)","n":5,"of":84,"pct":6},{"group":"fewer than 5 each (referred elsewhere (answer not published with the request), no substantive response published)","n":6,"of":84,"pct":7.1}]},"EOL2025":{"bodies":28,"breakdown":[{"group":"refused (exemption or other refusal)","n":13,"of":28,"pct":46.4},{"group":"answered","n":8,"of":28,"pct":28.6},{"group":"fewer than 5 each (information not held, partly answered, no substantive response published)","n":7,"of":28,"pct":25}]},"W7XP2021":{"bodies":231,"breakdown":[{"group":"answered","n":171,"of":231,"pct":74},{"group":"refused (exemption or other refusal)","n":40,"of":231,"pct":17.3},{"group":"no substantive response published","n":6,"of":231,"pct":2.6},{"group":"other (unresolved clarification or hold, supplier-enquiry handling, closed without answer)","n":5,"of":231,"pct":2.2},{"group":"fewer than 5 each (partly answered, referred elsewhere (answer not published with the request), information not held)","n":9,"of":231,"pct":3.9}]}},"windowsServer":{"IT2024":{"osQuestion":{"basis":"bodies that answered or withheld the server operating-system question","n":223,"breakdown":[{"group":"answered without naming a release (family only, e.g. \"Windows Server, Linux\", or no on-premises servers)","n":97,"of":223,"pct":43.5},{"group":"named at least one Windows Server release","n":70,"of":223,"pct":31.4},{"group":"withheld","n":56,"of":223,"pct":25.1}]},"namedReleases":{"basis":"bodies that named at least one Windows Server release (a body counts once per release it named)","n":70,"releases":[{"group":"Windows Server 2008 / 2008 R2","n":null,"of":70,"pct":null,"suppressed":"n<5"},{"group":"Windows Server 2012 / 2012 R2","n":15,"of":70,"pct":21.4},{"group":"older release, not named (\"2016 or lower\")","n":null,"of":70,"pct":null,"suppressed":"n<5"},{"group":"Windows Server 2016","n":51,"of":70,"pct":72.9},{"group":"Windows Server 2019","n":57,"of":70,"pct":81.4},{"group":"Windows Server 2022","n":41,"of":70,"pct":58.6},{"group":"Windows Server 2025","n":null,"of":70,"pct":null,"suppressed":"n<5"}],"summary":[{"group":"named a release older than 2016 (2012 R2 or earlier)","n":15,"of":70,"pct":21.4},{"group":"Windows Server 2016 or older (extended support ends 12 Jan 2027 or has ended)","n":52,"of":70,"pct":74.3},{"group":"only Windows Server 2019 or newer (full lists only)","n":17,"of":69,"pct":24.6}],"summaryNote":"'Named a release older than 2016' counts bodies that named Windows Server 2012 R2 or an earlier release. An answer such as '2016 or lower', which indicates an older release without naming one, is counted in '2016 or older' but not in 'named a release older than 2016'."},"namedReleasesByBodyType":[{"group":"councils","n":37,"of":53,"pct":69.8},{"group":"NHS bodies and all other body types combined","n":15,"of":17,"pct":88.2}],"withheldByBodyType":[{"group":"councils","n":34,"of":152,"pct":22.4},{"group":"NHS bodies","n":17,"of":58,"pct":29.3},{"group":"all other body types combined","n":5,"of":13,"pct":38.5}],"exemptionsWhenWithheld":{"basis":"bodies that withheld the server OS question: FOI Act sections each body cited against the study questions (a body can cite more than one; sections applied only to other questions, or raised only by the requester, are not counted)","n":56,"verification":"Counts include only citations that the stored extract of the reply shows the body applying to a study question. A count published on this basis is a lower bound; section counts whose codings could not all be verified this way are not published.","sections":[{"group":"s31 (law enforcement: prevention or detection of crime), shown in the stored reply extract","n":40,"of":56,"pct":71.4}],"notPublished":"Counts for section 43, section 24 and 'no section cited' are not published for this batch: not every coding behind them is shown in the stored extracts of the replies."}},"IT2023":{"osQuestion":{"basis":"bodies that answered or withheld the server operating-system question","n":73,"breakdown":[{"group":"answered without naming a release (family only, e.g. \"Windows Server, Linux\", or no on-premises servers)","n":29,"of":73,"pct":39.7},{"group":"withheld","n":23,"of":73,"pct":31.5},{"group":"named at least one Windows Server release","n":21,"of":73,"pct":28.8}]},"namedReleases":{"basis":"bodies that named at least one Windows Server release (a body counts once per release it named)","n":21,"releases":[{"group":"Windows Server 2008 / 2008 R2","n":null,"of":21,"pct":null,"suppressed":"n<5"},{"group":"Windows Server 2012 / 2012 R2","n":9,"of":21,"pct":42.9},{"group":"older release, not named (\"2016 or lower\")","n":null,"of":21,"pct":null,"suppressed":"n<5"},{"group":"Windows Server 2016","n":13,"of":21,"pct":61.9},{"group":"Windows Server 2019","n":16,"of":21,"pct":76.2},{"group":"Windows Server 2022","n":6,"of":21,"pct":28.6},{"group":"Windows Server 2025","n":null,"of":21,"pct":null,"suppressed":"n<5"}],"summary":[{"group":"named a release older than 2016 (2012 R2 or earlier)","n":9,"of":21,"pct":42.9},{"group":"Windows Server 2016 or older (extended support ends 12 Jan 2027 or has ended)","n":16,"of":21,"pct":76.2},{"group":"only Windows Server 2019 or newer (full lists only)","n":5,"of":21,"pct":23.8}],"summaryNote":"'Named a release older than 2016' counts bodies that named Windows Server 2012 R2 or an earlier release. An answer such as '2016 or lower', which indicates an older release without naming one, is counted in '2016 or older' but not in 'named a release older than 2016'."},"namedReleasesByBodyType":[],"namedReleasesByBodyTypeNote":"No body-type split is published for this batch: outside the largest body type the groups are too small (fewer than 5 bodies), so a split would reveal suppressed counts.","withheldByBodyType":[],"withheldByBodyTypeNote":"No body-type split is published for this batch: outside the largest body type the groups are too small (fewer than 5 bodies), so a split would reveal suppressed counts.","exemptionsWhenWithheld":{"basis":"bodies that withheld the server OS question: FOI Act sections each body cited against the study questions (a body can cite more than one; sections applied only to other questions, or raised only by the requester, are not counted)","n":23,"verification":"Counts include only citations that the stored extract of the reply shows the body applying to a study question. A count published on this basis is a lower bound; section counts whose codings could not all be verified this way are not published.","sections":[{"group":"s43 (commercial interests)","n":null,"of":23,"pct":null,"suppressed":"n<5"}],"notPublished":"Counts for section 31, section 24 and 'no section cited' are not published for this batch: not every coding behind them is shown in the stored extracts of the replies."}},"EOL2025":{"namedReleases":{"note":"Fewer than 5 bodies named a Windows Server release, so no release shares are published."},"exemptionsWhenWithheld":{"basis":"bodies that withheld the list of unsupported or end-of-life systems (a body can cite more than one section)","n":14,"verification":"Counts include only citations that the stored extract of the reply shows the body applying to a study question. A count published on this basis is a lower bound; section counts whose codings could not all be verified this way are not published.","sections":[{"group":"s43 (commercial interests)","n":null,"of":14,"pct":null,"suppressed":"n<5"}],"notPublished":"Counts for section 31 and section 24 are not published for this batch: not every coding behind them is shown in the stored extracts of the replies."}}},"vmware":{"IT2024":{"basis":"bodies that answered the VMware question","n":173,"usesVmware":{"group":"uses VMware","n":127,"of":173,"pct":73.4},"answers":[{"group":"uses VMware","n":127,"of":173,"pct":73.4},{"group":"does not use VMware","n":39,"of":173,"pct":22.5},{"group":"not applicable (fully cloud or N/A)","n":7,"of":173,"pct":4}],"plansOfUsers":{"basis":"bodies that use VMware","n":127,"breakdown":[{"group":"no plan to move away","n":78,"of":127,"pct":61.4},{"group":"plans to move away (fully or partly)","n":17,"of":127,"pct":13.4},{"group":"uses VMware, plan not stated","n":17,"of":127,"pct":13.4},{"group":"considering or reviewing","n":15,"of":127,"pct":11.8}]},"withheld":{"group":"withheld","n":49,"of":222,"pct":22.1},"otherHypervisorsNamed":{"basis":"bodies with a substantive reply; hypervisor named anywhere in the answer (a lower bound)","n":204,"hypervisors":[{"group":"Nutanix","n":null,"of":204,"pct":null,"suppressed":"n<5"},{"group":"Hyper-V","n":null,"of":204,"pct":null,"suppressed":"n<5"},{"group":"Citrix/XenServer","n":null,"of":204,"pct":null,"suppressed":"n<5"}],"note":"Nutanix is counted as a hypervisor only where the answer names AHV or Acropolis; Nutanix named as a hardware, storage or platform vendor is not counted, and where an answer says the platform runs ESXi, VMware is counted. Counts below 5 are suppressed."}}},"windows11":{"IT2024":{"transition":{"basis":"bodies that answered the Windows 11 transition question (answers dated November 2024 to October 2025, most in November and December 2024)","n":198,"breakdown":[{"group":"migration in progress","n":88,"of":198,"pct":44.4},{"group":"plan in place, not started","n":68,"of":198,"pct":34.3},{"group":"'yes' without saying whether done or planned","n":24,"of":198,"pct":12.1},{"group":"moved to Windows 11","n":12,"of":198,"pct":6.1},{"group":"no move and no plan stated","n":6,"of":198,"pct":3}],"withheld":{"group":"withheld","n":34,"of":232,"pct":14.7}},"compatibility":{"basis":"bodies whose answer states how far the device estate is Windows 11 compatible","n":186,"breakdown":[{"group":"yes","n":124,"of":186,"pct":66.7},{"group":"mostly (majority, or incompatible devices being replaced)","n":36,"of":186,"pct":19.4},{"group":"partly","n":18,"of":186,"pct":9.7},{"group":"no","n":8,"of":186,"pct":4.3}],"withheld":{"group":"withheld","n":29,"of":215,"pct":13.5}}}},"windows10":{"EOL2025":{"basis":"all bodies in the batch (requests sent in June 2025; the Windows 10 figures are dated June and July 2025, before Windows 10 end of support on 14 Oct 2025)","n":28,"gaveWindows10Figure":{"group":"gave a figure","n":9,"of":28,"pct":32.1},"gaveWindows10FigureNote":"Most of these figures are stated as approximate. The total and the median are deliberately not published.","reportedZeroWindows10":{"group":"zero","n":null,"of":9,"pct":null,"suppressed":"n<5"},"gaveEolList":{"group":"gave a list","n":8,"of":28,"pct":28.6},"saidNoEolItems":{"group":"none","n":null,"of":8,"pct":null,"suppressed":"n<5"},"windows11":{"basis":"bodies that stated their Windows 11 position unprompted","n":null,"suppressed":"n<5"}}},"esu":{"basis":"bodies whose answer mentions Extended Security Updates without being asked (coded only from an explicit statement)","IT2024":{"group":"mentioned","n":null,"of":270,"pct":null,"suppressed":"n<5"},"EOL2025":{"group":"mentioned","n":null,"of":28,"pct":null,"suppressed":"n<5"},"W7XP2021":{"group":"mentioned","n":null,"of":231,"pct":null,"suppressed":"n<5"},"note":"Fewer than 5 bodies in every batch mentioned ESU. No batch asked about ESU, so this is not evidence that others have no ESU arrangements."},"baseline2021":{"W7XP2021":{"context":"Answers dated May to November 2021, most in May and June 2021. Windows 7 extended support ended on 14 Jan 2020 (paid ESU ran to 10 Jan 2023); Windows XP support ended on 8 Apr 2014.","windows7":{"basis":"bodies that gave a Windows 7 figure or said they had some","n":172,"none":{"group":"none","n":94,"of":172,"pct":54.7},"some":{"group":"some","n":78,"of":172,"pct":45.3},"note":"No median or total is published: the answers mix instances, devices and virtual desktop sessions, and some gave more than one kind of count."},"windowsXP":{"basis":"bodies that gave a Windows XP figure or said they had some","n":170,"none":{"group":"none","n":161,"of":170,"pct":94.7},"some":{"group":"some","n":9,"of":170,"pct":5.3}},"refusedExemptions":{"basis":"bodies that refused (a body can cite more than one section)","n":40,"verification":"Counts include only citations that the stored extract of the reply shows the body applying to a study question. A count published on this basis is a lower bound; section counts whose codings could not all be verified this way are not published.","sections":[],"notPublished":"Counts for section 31 and section 43 are not published for this batch: not every coding behind them is shown in the stored extracts of the replies."}}},"headline":{"ws2016OrOlder_IT2024":{"group":"Windows Server 2016 or older (extended support ends 12 Jan 2027 or has ended)","n":52,"of":70,"pct":74.3},"ws2016_IT2024":{"group":"Windows Server 2016","n":51,"of":70,"pct":72.9},"pre2016_IT2024":{"group":"named a release older than 2016 (2012 R2 or earlier)","n":15,"of":70,"pct":21.4},"ws2016OrOlder_IT2023":{"group":"Windows Server 2016 or older (extended support ends 12 Jan 2027 or has ended)","n":16,"of":21,"pct":76.2},"osWithheld_IT2024":{"group":"withheld","n":56,"of":223,"pct":25.1},"usesVmware_IT2024":{"group":"uses VMware","n":127,"of":173,"pct":73.4},"windows7Some_W7XP2021":{"group":"some","n":78,"of":172,"pct":45.3}},"panel":{"note":"Fewer than 5 of the same bodies gave a full list of their Windows Server releases in both the 2023-24 answers (IT2023) and the 2024-25 answers (IT2024), so no before-and-after comparison is published."},"caveats":["Not a random sample. These are the bodies that happened to receive these particular requests from other people and answered them; results cannot be scaled up to all UK public bodies.","Answers are self-reported and dated: May to November 2021 (W7XP2021 figures), 2023 and early 2024 (IT2023), November 2024 to October 2025, mostly November and December 2024 (IT2024), and June to August 2025 (EOL2025). Estates may have changed since.","Many bodies answered only at family level (\"Windows Server, Linux\") or withheld the answer. Version shares describe only the bodies that named releases, which may differ from the rest.","Withholding is common, and in 2024-25 section 31 (law enforcement: prevention or detection of crime) was the section most often cited for operating-system and version details. Exemption figures count only citations shown in the stored extracts of the replies. Withheld answers are not evidence of old or new versions.","Shared IT services mean some bodies gave identical answers about one estate (for example district councils sharing an ICT partnership). Figures count bodies, not estates, so shared-service answers are correlated.","Presence of a release means it was named somewhere in the estate, not how many servers run it; a body naming Windows Server 2016 may run it on one server or many.","The 2021 Windows 7/XP questions asked for instances and devices; answers mix instances, devices and virtual desktop sessions, so only the share of bodies reporting some or none is published. An answer of 'fewer than 5' is counted as neither.","Windows 10 figures from 2025 are mostly approximate and predate the 14 Oct 2025 end of support; only the number of bodies that gave a figure is published.","Answers held only on a body's own website or portal were not read and count as \"referred elsewhere\"."],"advice":["Windows Server 2016: extended support ends on 12 Jan 2027 (mainstream support ended on 11 Jan 2022). In the 2024-25 answers, 51 of 70 (72.9%) bodies that named Windows Server releases listed 2016. Teams in a similar position can confirm which workloads still run on 2016 and schedule their upgrade or replacement before that date.","Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2: extended support ended on 10 Oct 2023. Microsoft Learn lists Extended Security Updates Year 3, ending on 13 Oct 2026, as the last ESU year for these releases; no further ESU year is listed after that date. In the 2024-25 answers, 15 of 70 (21.4%) bodies that named releases named 2012 R2 or an earlier release.","Choosing a target release: Windows Server 2019 extended support ends on 9 Jan 2029; Windows Server 2022 mainstream support ends on 13 Oct 2026 and extended support ends on 14 Oct 2031; Windows Server 2025 mainstream support ends on 13 Nov 2029 and extended support ends on 14 Nov 2034. Comparing these dates with the planned life of the hardware and the applications shows how long each target release stays in support.","Windows 10: support ended on 14 Oct 2025. Microsoft Learn describes a paid Extended Security Updates subscription for organisations, for a maximum of three years, and gives no calendar end date for it, so the terms that apply to each organisation are worth confirming before relying on it.","Hypervisors: 127 of 173 (73.4%) bodies that answered the VMware question use VMware, and 78 of those 127 stated no plan to move away. When planning a Windows Server 2016 exit, check host (hypervisor) and guest operating-system support dates together.","Evidence: keep a dated inventory of server and client operating-system versions, record where Extended Security Updates are in place and when they end, and compare it with the vendor's published end-of-support dates."],"page":{"status":"Publication text. It uses only the aggregate cells in this file.","textDatedFor":"2026-09-19","title":"Windows Server 2016 and Windows 10 end of support: what UK public bodies' own FOI answers show","metaDescription":"Windows Server 2016 extended support ends on 12 Jan 2027. In 2024-25 FOI answers, 51 of 70 UK public bodies that named their Windows Server releases listed it.","summary":"Extended support for Windows Server 2016 ends on 12 Jan 2027. This study codes Freedom of Information answers that UK public bodies gave to requests other people made between 2021 and 2025, with answers published online. In the 2024-25 answers, 51 of 70 (72.9%) bodies that named their Windows Server releases listed 2016, and 15 (21.4%) named a release older than 2016. Of 223 bodies that answered or withheld the server question, 56 (25.1%) withheld it, most often citing section 31 of the Freedom of Information Act. Of 198 bodies that described their Windows 11 move, 88 (44.4%) were part-way through it. The bodies are not a random sample of UK public bodies, so the figures describe these answers only.","summaryWords":120,"keyFindings":["Windows Server 2016: 51 of 70 (72.9%) bodies that named Windows Server releases in 2024-25 listed it, and 52 (74.3%) listed 2016 or older. Extended support for Windows Server 2016 ends on 12 Jan 2027.","Older releases: 15 of 70 (21.4%) bodies named a release older than 2016 (Windows Server 2012 R2 or earlier), all past the end of extended support; for 2012 and 2012 R2 it ended on 10 Oct 2023. Of the bodies that gave a full list, with no part withheld, 17 of 69 (24.6%) named only Windows Server 2019 or newer.","Withheld answers: 56 of 223 (25.1%) bodies that answered or withheld the server operating-system question withheld it in 2024-25, and 23 of 73 (31.5%) did so in answers from 2023 and early 2024. Section 31 (law enforcement: prevention or detection of crime) was cited by at least 40 of the 56 bodies that withheld it in 2024-25, counting only citations shown in the stored extracts of the replies.","Windows 11: of 198 bodies that described their position (answers mostly from November and December 2024), 88 (44.4%) were part-way through the move, 68 (34.3%) had a plan in place and 12 (6.1%) had completed it. Windows 10 support ended on 14 Oct 2025.","The 2021 baseline: in answers from May 2021 onwards, 78 of 172 (45.3%) bodies still reported some Windows 7, after its extended support ended on 14 Jan 2020, and 9 of 170 (5.3%) reported some Windows XP, whose support ended on 8 Apr 2014."],"sectionIntros":{"windowsServer":"Two sets of requests asked which server operating systems a body uses: IT infrastructure requests sent mostly in November 2024 (IT2024) and IT infrastructure requests sent mostly from August to October 2023 (IT2023). Shares use as their base the bodies that named at least one Windows Server release (70 in 2024-25, 21 in 2023-24). Many other bodies answered only at family level, for example 'Windows Server, Linux', and those answers are not read as having no old releases.","withheld":"Withholding is itself a finding. In 2024-25, 56 of 223 (25.1%) bodies withheld their operating-system answer; in answers from 2023 and early 2024, 23 of 73 (31.5%) did. In 2024-25 the section most often cited was section 31 of the Freedom of Information Act (law enforcement, which covers the prevention or detection of crime): at least 40 of the 56 bodies that withheld the answer cited it, counting only citations shown in the stored extracts of the replies. A withheld answer says nothing about which releases a body runs.","vmware":"The 2024-25 requests also asked whether the body uses VMware and whether it plans to move away. Of 173 bodies that answered, 127 (73.4%) use VMware. Of those, 78 (61.4%) stated no plan to move away, including answers that rule out a move for a stated period, and 17 (13.4%) stated a plan to move away, fully or partly.","windows11":"The 2024-25 requests asked whether the body had moved, or planned to move, to Windows 11, and whether its devices were compatible. Most answers date from November and December 2024, before Windows 10 support ended on 14 Oct 2025. Of 186 bodies that described compatibility, 124 (66.7%) said their device estate was compatible.","windows10":"The end-of-life requests (EOL2025) were sent in June 2025, before Windows 10 support ended on 14 Oct 2025. Of 28 bodies, 9 (32.1%) gave a Windows 10 device figure. Most of those figures were approximate, so no total or median is published.","baseline2021":"A 2021 batch asked councils and other bodies how many Windows 7 and Windows XP instances or devices they still ran. It shows the position after earlier ends of support: Windows 7 extended support ended on 14 Jan 2020 and Windows XP support ended on 8 Apr 2014. Only the share of bodies reporting some or none is published, because answers mix instances, devices and virtual desktops.","esu":"No batch asked about Extended Security Updates. Fewer than 5 bodies in each batch mentioned them without being asked, so no ESU figures are published, and this is not evidence about other bodies' ESU arrangements."},"adviceHeading":"What this means for public-sector IT teams","advice":["Windows Server 2016: extended support ends on 12 Jan 2027 (mainstream support ended on 11 Jan 2022). In the 2024-25 answers, 51 of 70 (72.9%) bodies that named Windows Server releases listed 2016. Teams in a similar position can confirm which workloads still run on 2016 and schedule their upgrade or replacement before that date.","Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2: extended support ended on 10 Oct 2023. Microsoft Learn lists Extended Security Updates Year 3, ending on 13 Oct 2026, as the last ESU year for these releases; no further ESU year is listed after that date. In the 2024-25 answers, 15 of 70 (21.4%) bodies that named releases named 2012 R2 or an earlier release.","Choosing a target release: Windows Server 2019 extended support ends on 9 Jan 2029; Windows Server 2022 mainstream support ends on 13 Oct 2026 and extended support ends on 14 Oct 2031; Windows Server 2025 mainstream support ends on 13 Nov 2029 and extended support ends on 14 Nov 2034. Comparing these dates with the planned life of the hardware and the applications shows how long each target release stays in support.","Windows 10: support ended on 14 Oct 2025. Microsoft Learn describes a paid Extended Security Updates subscription for organisations, for a maximum of three years, and gives no calendar end date for it, so the terms that apply to each organisation are worth confirming before relying on it.","Hypervisors: 127 of 173 (73.4%) bodies that answered the VMware question use VMware, and 78 of those 127 stated no plan to move away. When planning a Windows Server 2016 exit, check host (hypervisor) and guest operating-system support dates together.","Evidence: keep a dated inventory of server and client operating-system versions, record where Extended Security Updates are in place and when they end, and compare it with the vendor's published end-of-support dates."],"faq":[{"q":"When does Windows Server 2016 reach end of support?","a":"Extended support for Windows Server 2016 ends on 12 Jan 2027, according to Microsoft's lifecycle page on Microsoft Learn. Mainstream support ended on 11 Jan 2022."},{"q":"How many public bodies still ran Windows Server 2016?","a":"In the 2024-25 Freedom of Information answers, 51 of 70 (72.9%) bodies that named their Windows Server releases listed 2016. These bodies are not a random sample, and many others answered only at family level or withheld the answer, so the figure cannot be scaled up to all UK public bodies."},{"q":"Why do some public bodies refuse to say which operating systems they run?","a":"Most bodies that withheld the answer cited section 31 of the Freedom of Information Act (law enforcement, which covers the prevention or detection of crime): at least 40 of 56 in 2024-25, counting only citations shown in the stored extracts of the replies. Some cited other sections, such as section 43 (commercial interests). A withheld answer does not show whether a body runs old or new releases."},{"q":"What happens to Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2 after 13 Oct 2026?","a":"Extended support ended on 10 Oct 2023. Extended Security Updates Year 3 ends on 13 Oct 2026, and Microsoft Learn lists no further ESU year after that date. In the 2024-25 answers, 15 of 70 (21.4%) bodies that named releases named 2012 R2 or an earlier release."},{"q":"When did Windows 10 support end, and is there an extension?","a":"Windows 10 (Home, Pro, Enterprise and Education, version 22H2) reached end of support on 14 Oct 2025. Microsoft Learn describes a paid Extended Security Updates subscription for organisations, for a maximum of three years, and gives no calendar end date for it. In the June 2025 requests, 9 of 28 (32.1%) bodies gave a Windows 10 device figure."},{"q":"Where does the data come from, and why are no bodies named?","a":"From Freedom of Information responses from UK public bodies, published online. Servnet did not make these requests; other people made them, in four sets between 2021 and 2025: IT infrastructure requests, November 2024 onwards (270 bodies); IT infrastructure requests, January 2023 to January 2024 (84 bodies); end-of-life software and hardware requests, June 2025 (28 bodies); Windows 7 and Windows XP requests, May 2021 (231 bodies). Only aggregate counts are published, any count or base below 5 is suppressed, and no body is named, because a list of which body runs which release could help attackers choose targets."}],"methodNote":"Source: Freedom of Information responses from UK public bodies, published online. The requests were made by other people, not by Servnet; Servnet read the published requests and the bodies' replies. Four sets of requests were used, identified here by topic and period, with the code used in the data download: IT infrastructure requests, November 2024 onwards (270 bodies): 270 requests sent from November 2024 to July 2025, most in November 2024 (code IT2024); IT infrastructure requests, January 2023 to January 2024 (84 bodies): 87 requests, most sent from August to October 2023 (code IT2023); end-of-life software and hardware requests, June 2025 (28 bodies): 28 requests, with replies from June to August 2025 (code EOL2025); and Windows 7 and Windows XP requests, May 2021 (231 bodies): 231 requests sent on 19 May 2021 (code W7XP2021). Each body's reply was coded against a written codebook, counting each body once per set; where a body received two requests in the same set, the most complete and most recent reply is used. Response status (answered, partly answered, refused, information not held, referred elsewhere, no substantive response published, or other) is judged on the study questions only and is published for each set. This is not a random sample: it covers the bodies that happened to receive these requests and reply, so the results describe these answers and cannot be scaled up to all UK public bodies. Some bodies share one IT estate, for example councils in a shared ICT partnership, and gave the same answer; figures count bodies, not estates. Answers are self-reported and dated, and estates may have changed since. Only aggregate counts are published: no body is named and no reply is quoted. Any count or base below 5 bodies is suppressed, and small groups are merged so that a suppressed value cannot be worked out by subtraction. Two independent verification passes re-checked random samples of records against the source pages; where they found problems, the coding was corrected or the affected figure was withdrawn. Exemption figures are limited to codings that can be verified from the stored quotes: a section is counted only where the stored extract of the reply shows the body applying it to a study question, so the published section 31 count for 2024-25 is a lower bound, and section counts whose codings could not all be verified this way are not published. End-of-support dates are as displayed on Microsoft's lifecycle pages on Microsoft Learn, checked on 19 Sep 2026.","source":{"description":"Freedom of Information responses from UK public bodies, published online","requestedBy":"Other people, not Servnet","batches":["IT infrastructure requests, November 2024 onwards (270 bodies)","IT infrastructure requests, January 2023 to January 2024 (84 bodies)","End-of-life software and hardware requests, June 2025 (28 bodies)","Windows 7 and Windows XP requests, May 2021 (231 bodies)"]},"licence":"Licence: the derived aggregate tables in this study and its CSV download are published under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The underlying Freedom of Information responses remain the public bodies' information: copyright in each response stays with the body that sent it (or the Crown), and none is republished here.","dataDownload":"/research/public-sector-windows-eol-2026.csv","dataReadme":"/research/public-sector-windows-eol-2026-README.txt"}}