Help Is Here: Migrating Windows Server 2003 to Azure

” color=”red”]Is your organization still using Windows Server 2003? You might not have noticed that Microsoft’s extended support end date was July 14th 2015. That date marks the End of Life (EOL) for the Windows Server 2003 product. So now is the time to be migrating or thinking of migrating.

Do you need help with your execution plan and process of your migration? Well, we are here to help! Contact us with questions about your migration process.[/message_box]

What does this mean for you?

The EOL for the Windows Server 2003 means, there will be no security updates or patches provided for Windows Server 2003. Loss of further security updates could increase the risk of server compromise over time, as well as introduce information security compliance issues.

What does this do for you?

We all know that migrating your Infrastructure can be a daunting task for IT, but ultimately it becomes necessary to keep your infrastructure up to date and up to the task of supporting the organization’s mission. The question is not so much, “should I migrate?” as it is, “what should I migrate to?”

If you want to continue maintaining on-premise server hardware and software, then migrating to Windows Server 2012 is going to be the right choice for you.  You will have to make sure that your server platform complies with the requirements for Windows Server 2012; you can find a list of those requirements here

This may also represent an opportunity to migrate your Windows server to the public cloud, such as to Windows Azure.  Moving to Azure can make sense for financial reasons, trading capital expenditures for operating expense.  Moving to Azure can also get you out of the server hardware maintenance business—which could free up time to focus on other projects that will advance the organization’s mission.

Still need Windows Server 2003 running for a few more months?

If you can’t migrate just yet and still need to run Windows Server 2003, you need to at least make sure that your servers are running in a healthy state. You can only do this by creating a performance baseline and checking relevant performance counters. If you are not sure how you go about doing this, or do not have the time, we can help.

Migrating Legacy Windows Server to 2012 R2 and Microsoft Azure

” color=”green”]There is a broadcast with live Q&A on August 14, 2014 9:00am–1:00pm PDT, that covers migration from Windows Server 2003. The live event is a few days away, So you might want to register right away; here’s the link.[/message_box]