Windows 2003 Support. Why Is The Windows Server 2003 End Of Life Important?

Do you know if your company is running an up to date server? If you are a Windows Server 2003 user your product is now approaching the end of its life cycle as of July 14th, 2015. This means Microsoft will end their support for this product and an estimate of over 10 million machines may be affected. What does this mean for your business? An unsupported product will stop receiving new patches and security updates. This could put your business at risk with the lack of protection needed to meet your compliance requirements.

• End Date: Support ends July 14^th, 2015
• Old Versions: Server 2003
• Current Supported Version: Server 2008 and 2012

What can you do about it?

The first action item that needs to take place is to build a plan on what servers are important to your business. Keep in mind that this whole process of planning and installation can take up to 8 weeks to complete. Once the upgrade process has begun you can consider utilizing a private cloud network to virtualize your data servers to keep your business going while your technicians install your new server. If your business is heavily regulated you should consider checking your Business Continuity Plan to ensure you cover all your bases with this new installation. Here is a quick summary below:

Steps to solve the Windows 2003 Support Expiry:

1. Perform a Server Assessment to determine affected servers: MBC Windows 2003 Server Assessment
2. Investigate pricing options to upgrade to Windows Server 2012
3. Utilize Cloud Services while new server is being installed
4. Check your Disaster Recovery Services for your Windows Servers
5. Deploy a network monitoring team to ensure a smooth final transition.

If you would like to learn more you can contact us today.

Tammy Nyman

EVP & Managed IT Services Expert