Microsoft to end support for Windows Server 2003 OS on July 14, 2015

Microsoft has announced that it will end support for Windows Server 2003 operating system on July 14, 2015.  With only 100-days left, organizations have an opportunity to modernize their business with Windows Server 2012 R2 and Microsoft Azure for enhanced productivity and operational efficiency.

Tyler Bryson, GM – Marketing and Operations, Microsoft said, “With only 100 days remaining for the end of support for Windows Server 2003, it’s time for businesses to accelerate their migration plans. In the mobile-first, cloud-first world, running enterprises on unsupported platforms will not only have cost and security implications, but will also cause enterprises to fall behind on the innovation curve. We urge all businesses to transition to Windows Server 2012 R2 or Microsoft Azure to reduce risks, embrace the latest in platform technology and modernize their infrastructure. Along with our partners, we are committed to help customers to move to modern Microsoft platforms.”

As CIOs in India preparing for this migration, a research conducted by the International Data Corporation (IDC) with Microsoft in Asia highlighted that businesses that are already upgraded to Windows Server 2012 R2 have seen increased productivity and automation, enabling IT to reduce man-hours to run IT infrastructure by 20 – 30 hours per month.

With this migration, it will not only secure businesses from threats, but also help enterprises store data on a cloud platform and interpret it well.

In addition to this, Ascentius, an independent research and analytics firm, summarizes reasons for businesses to graduate from Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2012 R2 and Microsoft Azure, which includes both operational benefits and financial implications.

Alok Shende, MD at Ascentius said, “Business and IT complexity that Indian enterprises confront today are in scale of multitudes to the ones that existed in the reign of Windows Server 2003. End of support for Windows Server 2003 is an opportunity to engage with the future, not just incrementally but profoundly. The aggregation of advancements in the current Windows Server platform enables continuity of traditional IT with the flexibility of new innovation-led cloud world, thus significantly raising the opportunity cost for Enterprises that continue to remain on the fence.”

G.V. Gopalakrishnan, COO, Aditya Birla Financial Services Limited said, “Aditya Birla Financial Services Limited decided to move to Windows Server 2012 R2 to enable better services and capabilities.  In the process, we have benefited from enhanced security and better compliance.  Now our systems are more agile, helping us deliver quickly to our internal and external customers.  We are seeing reduced costs and are better prepared for newer business scenarios” 

A.S. Rajgopal, MD & CEO of NxtGen Datacenter & Cloud Technologies said, “As a leading hosting and cloud services provider, we need to have a robust, scalable and reliable platform. Building on Windows Server 2012 R2 has enabled us to build a dynamic and modern cloud infrastructure and offer cost-effective cloud services, both public and private, for our customers”.

It’s worth mentioning that, thousands of businesses worldwide have already adopted Microsoft Azure to improve their performance, agility and speed of response while keeping their cost of maintenance to a lowest.

Microsoft is committed to provide best-in class enterprise-grade security for its cloud, including Microsoft Azure. In a significant step towards assuring trustworthy computing, Microsoft has become the first major cloud provider to adopt the world’s first international cloud privacy standard, developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the press release states.

Several key partners are working thoroughly with Microsoft to help customers move to modern platforms

Manish Gupta, Director, Enterprise Solutions Group, Dell India said, “Aligned with the end of support timelines for Windows Server 2003, we have designed solutions to help our customers proactively address migration issues and provide a smooth transition. Given that delay in migration can cause serious business issues, we have created a host of solutions to cater to the needs of businesses. We believe that each workload would require a separate migration plan, hence, Dell Services aims at providing unique solutions to help rank and classify Windows Server migration pathway based on critical business needs. Dell’s end-to-end expertise addresses migration from the datacenter to the end point, empowering customers to modernize their IT environments with ease.”

Siddhesh S Naik, Director, Enterprise Business Group, Lenovo India said, “With Microsoft ending support for Windows Server 2003, there will be no more support for applications or programs, and it will cause noncompliance with existing security and regulatory norms. We have worked with Microsoft to outline the Lenovo Windows Server 2003 End of Support Program, which is aimed at providing enterprises with information, sales tools, collateral, and programs to help migrate. These services include detailed assessments, migration and integration, and will allow customers to move to System x platforms running the latest Windows Server 2012 R2 operating system.”