Buying a laptop for work? Read this first!

It’s crucial you get the right specification laptop for your work and business, or you run the risk of failing in online security and GDPR and facing costly upgrades. Find out the important difference between Windows 11 Home and Pro and the processing power you need.  

Risks of buying a laptop direct without advice

We guarantee you’ll be frustrated if you buy a new laptop on offer in a high-street store, installed with Windows 11 Home, to then find out it is not possible, or advisable, to do the work you want to do on it. It’s best to get advice first before you get stuck with a laptop that costs you more to upgrade.

Potentially, you can have the laptop you buy upgraded to Windows 11 Pro, but it’s not always possible, depending on the model you’ve bought – and the cost of doing that will be more in the long run.

It’s always best to try and buy the right specification laptop from the get-go.

World of difference between Windows Home and Windows Pro

The clue is in the name!

Windows Home is cheaper than Windows Professional but the functions you’ll go without can hamper your capabilities. Yes, you can upgrade to Windows Professional from Home, but that also comes at an extra cost.

Don’t risk Windows 11 Home if you’re dealing with personal data

As a business user you’ll likely deal with sensitive information, so it’s vital to your compliance, reputation and customer trust that you maintain standards of online security. Not doing so puts you at risk of GDPR non-compliance.

Increased security with Windows Pro

The main differences between Windows Home and Pro concern security.

Where device encryption is automatic with Windows Home, a MS account will be required and a recovery key is simply uploaded to OneDrive, so it’s better for consumer end users.

The Pro version comes with support for BitLocker Drive Encryption, which is more suitable for business users as it’s able to be configured using a centralised security policy applicable to a whole business. In the event your device is lost or stolen, BitLocker will lockdown on your systems and data.

Pro includes Windows Information Protection (WIP)

WIP is a data loss prevention tool. Equipped with WIP you’re able to prevent users forwarding content and ‘leaking’ your data. WIP is built in, so you wouldn’t need a third-party provider. Another handy feature is WIP can distinguish between business and personal data on a device, so if the device is stolen, the business-only data can be removed remotely.

Pro lets you manage other business devices

Windows 11 Home will not let you join Active Directory, which are solutions required for managing business devices and configuring access to resources like apps, etc. In Pro, you can configure updates to other devices to avoid loss of service at busy times and setup group policies, mobile device management and other protocols.

Other professional tools in Windows 11 Pro

Windows 11 Home includes support for virtualization and remote desktop. A Windows Home PC cannot be accessed remotely using MS Remote Desktop. And, for instance, you wouldn’t be able to try a different operating system or create a virtual machine, although there are third=party apps that would provide a workaround for Home versions.

Other enterprise features in Pro include support for two CPUs instead of one, and 2TB of RAM instead of 128GB.

Ensure enough storage and processing capability

Avoid buying any laptop with 120GB storage. Disk warnings will pop up as soon as Outlook is installed. And when it comes to processors, ensure you get i5 as a minimum. i5 is fine for most office users, but if you need a boost, we suggest going for i7, and i9 for heavy users.  

Still not sure what laptop you need?

If you’re still wondering between Microsoft Windows 11 Home or Pro, and what’s best for your work, get in touch for advice and speak to one of our team.

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