Microsoft is reaching out to help customers migrate to more efficient, productive, scalable, cloud-enabled solutions as the extended support period for Microsoft Windows Server 2003 nears its end.
Eline Herbert, Product Marketing Manager for Server and Tools at Microsoft South Africa, says Microsoft, together with its major partners in South Africa, is intensifying awareness and support campaigns around the upgrade from Windows Server 2003.
Mainstream support ended in 2010 and the extended support period ends on 14 July 2015.
Herbert says South Africa is still among the top 10 countries worldwide in terms of Windows Server 2003 footprint. "Many of these customers still using Windows Server 2003 are likely start-ups and smaller businesses, but there are some larger companies still reliant on it," she says. "The worrying thing is some companies are running core business systems on Windows Server 2003. When support is discontinued, they will be exposed to compliance and cyber crime risks, as well as a knock-on effect that will also see application support terminated.
"Now it's a time game. If companies haven't started upgrading yet, they have to accelerate the process," she says.
"Server migrations typically take around 200 days and application migrations around 300 days in a medium to large enterprise," she says. "With only seven months to the cut-off date, those who have not yet started are unlikely to have completed the process before the extended support period ends."
She says: "We are seeing companies who feel 'if it's working, leave it alone'. In addition, some face budget constraints or are reluctant to upgrade because they are running important legacy applications."
However, Herbert says many of the concerns raised can be easily overcome with the assistance of Microsoft and its major partners, resellers and distributors. The cost and complexity of migration is not as great as companies fear, while upgrading systems has the added advantage of positioning companies to innovate.
"The cost of upgrading is minimal, compared with the potential losses and risks of running an unprotected, unsupported system," she says. "Cyber criminals are likely to take full advantage of vulnerabilities after 14 July, while companies running these legacy systems will no longer be PCI or POPI compliant. Every day after 14 July that enterprises are still running Windows Server 2003 is a day in which they are betting their business," she says.
For more information on the end of support for Windows Server 2003, visit http://aka.ms/windowsserver2003EndOfSpport
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