The Department of Defense has decided to adopt Windows 10

Microsoft has touted Windows 10 as one of the most-secure operating systems in the world in an effort to convince more businesses and government agencies to adopt it, and it must be working, because the company announced on Wednesday that the Department of Defense is planning to upgrade about four million of its devices to Windows 10. The department is directing all of its child agencies to upgrade to Windows 10, and expects to have all of its devices upgraded within a year. What’s more, the Surface Book, Surface Pro 3, and Surface Pro 4 have all been approved by the department. 

The U.S. Department of Defense is embracing Microsoft’s latest operating system in a big way. Secretary of Defense Ashton B. Carter has directed all DoD agencies currently using Microsoft operating systems to upgrade and standardize to Windows 10, Microsoft announced Wednesday. That amounts to some 4 million DoD devices and systems. Microsoft Federal Chief Technology Officer Susie Adams said the rollout is “starting right away,” and the DoD aims to upgrade all devices and systems within one year. “This is an unprecedented move for the DoD and the largest enterprise deployment of Windows 10 to date,” Adams wrote in a blog post. Microsoft also today announced two security certifications, which it likely hopes will encourage others to make the leap to Windows 10: the National Information Assurance Program and the Defense Information Systems Agency Unified Capabilities Approved Products List, which is a list of products that meet the DoD’s “strict security and interoperability requirements,” Adams wrote. “We are confident the DoD’s adoption of Windows 10, coupled with the department’s ability to use Surface devices, will help it reach its goals of improving its cybersecurity posture, lowering the cost of IT, and simplifying its operating environment,” Adams wrote.