Michael Graham is the Vice President of Retail Solutions & Strategy for Hyosung. In this role, he helps retail customers make decisions about transformation products and unlock the value of those investments. Prior to joining Hyosung, Michael worked at Wells Fargo Bank in both the Retail Banking and Technology business units, developing and implementing many transformative solutions and products.
On August 31, 2021 Microsoft announced the release on Windows 11 which will be available on October 5, 2021.
Only yesterday the industry was striving to upgrade ATMs to Windows 7 and then again to Window 10 just a few years later. Despite claims from Microsoft that Windows 10 was the last version of Windows, Microsoft’s recent announcement may have instigated new concerns of another major operating system (OS) update, without a moment for the ATM industry to catch its breath. Specifically, Windows 10 was touted as the actual end of the old software distribution method. In the future, OS updates would arrive seamlessly and automatically. No concern needed on which version of Windows your ATMs operated upon, we’d all be running the same version eventually. Now it seems Microsoft has course corrected.
According to Microsoft Chief Product Officer Panos Panay, the presiding theme behind the new design (of Windows 11) is to make you feel “an incredible sense of calm.” Microsoft touts the design and sounds are modern, fresh, clean and beautiful. Nursing ATM Win10 conversion hangovers, likely not many ATM owners initially felt a sense of ‘calm’ upon seeing this announcement in the headlines.
Hold the Phone…
Prior to launching any deep dive analysis on your ATMs Win11 migration readiness, one should ground themselves with a few ‘truths’ about Windows and ATM operating systems and Hyosung support.
1.The ATM industry is primarily using “Windows 10 IoT 2016 LTSB” as this version has the longest “lifecycle” of all the Win10 versions.
- LTSB = Long Term Service Branch and it comes with 10 years of support.
- End of extended support is 2026.
2.Windows 10 IoT 2019 LTSB is the next offering with end of extended support of 2029.
3.Hyosung currently supports Windows 10 IoT 2016 LTSB with extended support life until 2026.
4.Hyosung will release support in Q4 2021 for Win10 IoT 2019.
5.There is NOT an upgrade path from 2016 to 2019 and you must repurchase the license.
6.Microsoft is preparing to release a Windows 10 IoT 2021 LTSB with an expected end of extended support in 2031.
The Bottom Line
In summary, the version of Windows 11 announced on August 31, 2021 will not find its way onto ATMs. Eventually, Microsoft will release a ‘LTSB’ version for Windows 11 that would support ATMs, though not for many years ahead and rest assured Hyosung will be ready to support you at that time. So take a collective sigh of relief as it pertains to this Microsoft announcement.
Again, the bottom Line for Hyosung ATMs:
- Hyosung current Win10 implementations are valid until 2026.
- Hyosung will be releasing a “new” Win10 LTSB version later this year. (Valid until 2029)
Should you have additional questions about Windows 11 and your ATMs, we encourage you to contact your Hyosung sales rep or your local Authorized Hyosung Dealer to see how Hyosung can help you.
