Linux has greater respect for user choice than Windows does. You can run the software you want in Linux on later versions of Linux. Support doesn't drop, like it does in Windows. I can run the same programs today that I ran over 20 years ago in Linux. Which I find rather comforting. Although there's new stuff available too. That's sometimes good. Some of your old Windows software may even run in emulators in Linux. Which if I was you, and I relied on that software, I'd definitely explore. Because your old Windows machines won't run forever.

Linux has a permanence about it though.