On July 14, 2015, Microsoft officially halts support for Windows Server 2003 and will no longer provide security updates or other patches.
While Microsoft wants and expects you to jump forward to Windows Server 2012, this is not your only option.
“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” – Albert Einstein
Upgrading from Windows Server 2003 to 2012 R2 is more than just upgrading your operating system, it is a wholesale replacement of your infrastructure. Industry insiders call it a “fork lift upgrade”, as you need new server hardware, your new edition of Windows Server, and new Client Access Licenses (CALs) — all of which must be 64-bit. And with the new OS version, you will need to upgrade or replace anti-virus, backup/recovery, and other software and systems tied to old environment.
And for what? A new version file server that gives you the same capabilities as your current file server. Granted, Windows 2012 has new capabilities, but if you needed or wanted them, you would have already made the move.
“If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.” ― Henry Ford
You DO Have Options
We are the first to acknowledge that cloud-based solutions are the right choice for every business in every situation. Cloud computing, however, has matured to the point that you should always give it serious consideration.
Imagine an environment for your employees where:
- Email is fast, efficient, and reliable; protected from spam; and easily accessible from phones and tablets
- Users can manage their calendars and appointments on their computers, phones, and laptops, and can share calendars with project teams
- Files are stored in a central, secure location, but are securely accessible from desktops, laptops, phones, and tablets with out burdensome and slow VPN or remote desktop tools
- Data is protected by multiple daily backups
- User can share files and work together without endless streams of emails and attachments
- Users can communicate and share ideas within documents, via text, by voice, or by video conferencing with screen sharing — for no additional cost
- Legacy desktop and server applications are accessible through a web browser
- Desktops, laptops, phones, and tablets are protected from viruses and malware with a known-risk database up to 500 times greater than your current anti-virus solution
- Users can work on laptops costing less than $400 that if lost, damaged, or stolen, will not allow access to your sensitive data
If a some (or all) of these sound interesting to you, if you want your team to work more productively, or if you simply want to grow your business instead of your business’ IT, let us know.
Maybe the cloud is right for you.
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In case you missed this … Google is ending support for the Google Drive desktop app on January 1, 2017 for MS Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows Server 2003. As Google will no longer test or support the Google Drive app on these platforms, you are unprotected if the app fails to work. While the app may still work, Google will no longer test or provide updates — leaving you at risk for errors including data corruption and loss.