The Clock is Ticking

Microsoft will end support for Windows Server 2003/R2 on July 14, 2015. Now is the time to migrate.

What does the end of support really mean?

End of support for Windows Server 2003/R2 can have a very negative impact on your business. It will mean no more updates or patches from Microsoft, which can result in a less stable and less secure infrastructure for your organization. No updates? Really? Microsoft will no longer develop or release any updates after ending support. To put this in perspective— 37 critical updates were released in 2013 for Windows Server 2003/R2 under extended support. Imagine what impact zero updates will have on your infrastructure.

Am I out of compliance?

After support ends, your organization will likely fail to meet most industrywide compliance standards and regulations. This could result in lost business or dramatically increase the cost of doing business, in the form of high transaction fees and penalties. Without continued support from Microsoft, your virtualized and physical instances of Windows Server 2003/R2 will not pass a compliance audit. Microsoft Small Business Server (SBS) 2003 will also be affected.

What's it going to cost me to ignore the problem?

The costs of maintaining your legacy servers can add up quickly. Maintenance costs for aging hardware will likely increase, and you will have to deal with added costs for intrusion detection systems, more advanced firewalls, and network segmentation—all simply to isolate 2003 servers. Staying put will likely cost more in the end.

This is an opportunity to transform your datacenter.

The end of support for Windows Server 2003/R2 could signal the beginning of a new stage in your organization’s evolution, and taking advantage of the Microsoft datacenter transformation vision can help you reach that next stage.

What do I do next?

Your migration should ideally follow a process to make the transition from Windows Server 2003/R2 to the cloud as smooth as possible. That process will include discovering, assessing, and targeting workloads and software before choosing the right migration plan.

Talk to us today, we can help.