Still running a 2020 PC? Your business is at risk—both from security threats and being left behind.

Millions of Australian PCs are still running Windows 10, which reached end of support in October 2025. Without ongoing updates from Microsoft, these systems have become prime targets for attackers using AI to launch sophisticated, personalised scams and hacks against small businesses that lack dedicated cybersecurity teams.

Security incidents against small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are now costing up to $3 million — enough to close many permanently, according to a recent discussion between Andrew Ridley, Enterprise and Government Sales Director, ANZ, Intel Corporation, and Andy Malakuti, Go-to-Market Lead, Microsoft.

Yet many companies continue relying on five-year-old PCs that can’t meet today’s threat landscape.

The risks aren’t just digital. Under Australian privacy regulations, directors can now face personal liability for preventable data breaches. For many SMBs, that makes ageing hardware a governance issue, not just an IT one.

Beyond security, the economics of older technology no longer add up. Ageing PCs fail more often, need more support, and limit team mobility with poor battery life. Meanwhile, current generation PCs with Intel vPro technology allow IT people to diagnose and fix problems remotely (even reimage blue-screened machines) without a site visit.

The democratisation of AI

The productivity gap between five-year-old PCs and today’s is just as stark. New processors more than double performance, while graphics capability has jumped over 40 per cent. This isn’t just about letting team members get things done more quickly: the extra processing speed allows AI to run on-device.

Windows 11 Pro Copilot+ PCs powered by Intel® AI Boost Neural Processing Unit (NPU) bring enterprise-grade AI capabilities to devices that only cost around $2,500.

These PCs combine CPU, GPU and NPU processors to run AI workloads locally, without sending sensitive company data to the cloud. That means businesses can use AI safely for tasks once limited to large organisations. Doctors can automatically generate consultation notes on their PC while preserving patient confidentiality. Insurance assessors can produce instant damage reports on site. Marketing agencies can personalise blog content for different demographics in minutes without sharing unreleased information with public AI models.

For many Australian SMBs, particularly those with diverse workforces, on-device AI assistants can polish written communication instantly, and real-time meeting transcription and natural-language document search can cut hours of ‘administrivia’ time.

Security built from the ground up

Modern PCs protect data from the silicon upwards. Intel’s Assured and Trusted Supply Chain verifies components through each manufacturing stage to prevent tampering, addressing a growing concern as organised crime groups target hardware itself.

Technologies like Intel Trusted Execution (TXT), Trusted Platform Module (TPM 2.0), and Microsoft Pluton create a chain of trust from boot to browser. NPUs now offload continuous threat-scanning tasks, maintaining system performance while detecting anomalies in real time.

Security vendors such as McAfee and CrowdStrike have optimised their software for this hardware layer, using AI to identify deepfakes and synthetic attacks before they spread.

Even daily usability features now enhance security. Modern PCs automatically lock when users step away, then reauthenticate through Windows Hello facial recognition. Live caption translation and noise cancellation mean staff can work securely and professionally from airports or cafés without exposing sensitive conversations.

A surprisingly quick payback period

For many SMBs, the upfront cost of upgrading quickly pays for itself. Total cost-of-ownership studies show most recover the investment within six months through higher productivity, fewer support visits, and lower energy use.

Avoiding even one security breach can more than offset an entire fleet refresh.

Crucially, today’s devices future-proof businesses for the rapid evolution of AI. Open-source tools available through platforms such as Hugging Face and AI Playground mean teams can now build custom chatbots, marketing engines or analytics dashboards without coding expertise.

A platform for the next decade

According to Intel and Microsoft, after four decades of partnership, the two companies have shifted from democratising personal computing to democratising artificial intelligence. The PCs of 2025 are not incremental upgrades; they’re a foundation for how work will be done in the AI era.

For small businesses where time and trust are the ultimate currencies, upgrading to Windows 11 Pro devices is now less about keeping up with technology and more about staying ahead of competitors who are already transforming how they work.

Empower your team. Secure your business. Unlock the full potential of your technology. Find out more about AI PCs powered by Intel and Microsoft Windows 11.