Windows Server 2003, how big a problem is it? - blueAPACHE

October 13, 2014

As Microsoft confirms that Windows Server 2003 will no longer be supported (or more importantly, no longer receive critical service packs or security updates), we are learning that the need to start migrating away is rapidly becoming something businesses should be prioritising now, not next year.

According to Forrester’s Richard Fichera, there are still approximately 9 million Windows Server 2003 systems running today, with another 2+ million instances running as virtual machine guests. Overall, that equates to around 11 million operating system images and a ton of hardware that will need replacing and upgrading.

The challenge facing business is that many Windows Server 2003 servers are legacy servers, quietly running some mature piece of code, often in satellite locations or third party vendors.

The application workloads are a mix of software vendor and bespoke code, but it is often a critical line of business applications that have long since migrated to newer platforms. Identifying where they are can proving troublesome. Once identified, the second challenge is working out whether the legacy applications and bespoke code will actually run on new server or cloud platforms.

With the amount of custom code typically involved (and the potential time required to migrate, rebuild and update code), the need to perform an aggressive stock take on all systems now – not next year.

This is paramount to maintain business continuity, mitigate security concerns and manage risk, and will only become more so as we move closer to the July 2015 deadline and resources become harder to secure.

For a discussion on how to identify and mitigate your Windows Server 2003 risks, contact blueAPACHE.

News