This IDC Executive Brief analyzes the implications of the termination of Windows Server 2003 support in July 2015 and suggests best practices for European organizations that are planning to migrate to a more up to date IT infrastructure.
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Windows Server 2003 Migration: Take a Fresh Look at Your IT Infrastructure
1.
December 2014, IDC #IDCEB51W
EXECUTIVE BRIEF
Windows Server 2003 Migration: Take a Fresh Look at
Your IT Infrastructure
Sponsored by: Symantec
Carla Arend Andrew Buss
December 2014
IDC Opinion
Microsoft will be ending Extended Support for Windows Server 2003 in July 2015. For Microsoft
customers, this means that standard, packaged support offerings will no longer be available. In
addition, Microsoft will stop issuing security patches for Windows Server 2003 when Extended
Support has terminated. Consequently, European organizations will be exposed to significant risk if
they stay on the Windows Server 2003 platform beyond July 2015.
Windows Server 2003 is a proven and stable IT infrastructure software platform and is still in
widespread use in many European organizations. However, as support for Windows Server 2003
will end in July 2015, IDC advises IT organizations to start planning for a migration to Windows
Server 2012 R2 as soon as possible. This will help to ensure that there will be enough time to plan
the migration, secure the necessary budget, recruit the needed skills, and implement and test the
upgrade.
While carrying out the assessment of the Windows Server 2003 estate, IT organizations are also
advised to take a closer look at their entire IT infrastructure. This is because all IT technology
layers have undergone a significant evolution in the past 10 years. IT organizations can benefit
from updating their server, storage, and data protection and recovery products to the newest
available products to achieve lower operational cost with increased performance and better
protection.
In This Executive Brief
This IDC Executive Brief analyzes the implications of the termination of Windows Server 2003
support in July 2015 and suggests best practices for European organizations that are planning to
migrate to a more up to date IT infrastructure.
Situation Overview: Windows Server 2003 Migration — Why You Need
to Act Now
Microsoft Windows Server 2003 is a very popular operating system that is still in widespread use
throughout Europe. Many organizations that have built custom applications based on this operating
system have not yet felt compelled to upgrade to newer releases of the Windows Server Operating
System. One of the biggest drivers of this has been that these applications, many of which support
critical business functions, run very well on Windows Server 2003. Migrating them to a newer
platform takes time, money and effort away from other initiatives.
6.
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