Why Update Windows Servers?
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Created: Friday, 07 February 2014 22:00
Recently I had a client that wanted to migrate from a Windows Server 2003 to Server 2008 R2. In most organizations I have worked with, they have the mentality of "if it aint broke, then don't fix it." It isn't sexy to upgrade existing applications in your network that already seem to be working fine. Most people would rather put that money into something that would make them money, or at least entertain them visually. What does it mean for a business that fails to work toward upgrading?
- No more manufacturer support. Any bugs or flaws found within the OS will stay there forever.
- Limited use going forward. In some cases legacy applications are needed to meet business objectives. As time moves forward, finding applications that will run on legacy operating systems becomes difficult. When was the time you seen an application that works with Windows 95 or Windows NT?
- Limited experience pool. When things become end of life, the only people that have experience with these systems are people that were around when these systems were relevant. I've worked with people that were around when servers were as big as houses, and now you can run a network from a laptop. How may people with mainframe experience are still around?
This particular client understood that Server 2003 will reach its end of life in 2015. They also understood that the hardware this OS was running on was about to die. What better time to upgrade the OS and move virtual?
