Windows Server 2003 Support is Ending

After July 14, Microsoft will no longer issue security updates for any version of Windows Server 2003. If you are still running Windows Server 2003 in your datacentre, you need to take steps now to plan and execute a migration strategy to protect your infrastructure. By migrating to Windows Server 2012 R2, Microsoft Azure or Office 365, you can achieve concrete benefits, including improved performance, reduced maintenance requirements, and increased agility and speed of response to the business.

There are two reasons you should prioritize Windows Server 2003 migration. The first is about the business opportunity you are not capitalizing on because you are running on decade-old technology. The innovation that has taken place in server and cloud technology since Windows Server 2003 was released is enormous. By not evolving your infrastructure to new technologies, your competition doesn’t have to work that hard to keep up. There is a huge opportunity to take advantage of the speed, scale, availability, and cost savings offered by more modern platforms.

The second reason you should prioritize Windows Server 2003 is security. Running unsupported technologies means you aren’t getting updates and patches that will protect you against new threats. To put this in perspective, there were 37 critical updates for Windows Server 2003 in 2013 and 21 critical updates in 2014—so even though your server may be 10 years old, that doesn’t protect you against discovered vulnerabilities. On top of that, you might be in compliance trouble if you run unsupported. For example, if you are using Windows Server 2003 for credit card transactions, PCI vendors may not be willing to work with you going forward.


Read the IDC white paper: Why you should get current >

Steps to take:

1. Discover – Determine which of your applications/workloads are running on Windows Server 2003 today.

2. Assess – Categorise applications and workloads by type, importance, and degree of complexity.

3. Target – Choose a migration destination for each application and workload.

 

4. Migrate – Build your migration plan.


Alternatively, why not contact Eurotech? Our experienced team of Microsoft specialists can manage your migration from start to finish, removing all the hassle and mitigating the risk to your business.  Or maybe you just require a consultative engagement to help you on your way?  Either way we would be more than happy to help.