Why CIOs should really care about end of support for Windows Server 2003

 

That’s the question that CIOs should also ask themselves when looking at IT inventory that is obsolete but still working. 

Microsoft will end its extended support for Windows Server 2003 on July 14. It will stop providing patches to fix security vulnerabilities or newly discovered defects in the code, much like Windows XP when its extended support ended in April. 

What’s different though is that while those upgrading from XP had to deal with application migration challenges, migrating from Server 2003 is typically a much longer, planned and complex process. 

Which begs the questions that many CIOs and data centre managers are asking themselves. Why the urgency to migrate from Server 2003 if the current servers work just fine? Why incur the extra cost, spend precious man-hours and risk possible system downtime to upgrade something that serves the organisation well? 

Not surprisingly, many CIOs that we speak with in the region who are still running Server 2003 continue to work with the notion that they are immune to security risks and compliance issues. 

Most are also confident that the data and applications that sit on these servers can still serve the mobile-first and cloud-first world that we live in today. In fact, many business leaders believe they can save money by not investing to upgrade their servers. Nothing can be further from the truth.

An average migration takes about 200 days to complete. With less than 250 days before extended support ends, now is the time to start planning for the migration before it is too late.

Migrating allows a company to be able to comply with the latest regulatory standards. 

That can help the company avoid fines or in 

some cases, avoid being cut off by partners 

keen to protect their own compliance 

standards

Not having to worry about server security means the business can continue to run optimally without any downtime.

Migrating to the latest server OS can bring about more cost-savings in the longer term. A Forrester study showed that customers upgrading to the latest Windows Server 2012 R2 from either Server 2008 or 2012 estimate a six-month payback and a three-year risk-adjusted return on investment for a composite organisation of 15,000 employees.

There is no denying that server migrations can be a challenging and daunting undertaking for many organisations. But they are also opportunities for companies to reassess their server strategy to ensure that they continue to stay ahead of the competition. 

Time is running out for CIOs to migrate to a modern, cloud-optimised infrastructure. Given proper planning and the right tools – such as the AppZero software that can help to automate migration processes – the journey of upgrading from Windows Server 2003 can be both painless and beneficial for the company. 

 

Arun Ulagaratchagan is the general manager of the cloud and enterprise group at Microsoft Asia-Pacific.