Just a few short months from now, Microsoft will be ending its support of Windows Server 2003. This cutoff won’t leave much time for businesses to update existing systems or facilitate a total transfer of existing work to the cloud.

Unfortunately, a very low number of businesses currently operating on Windows Server 2003 have actually calculated a plan for the changeover with their IT services company.

Potential Risks

Your New England IT service company should be letting you know about the potential issues that come along with being unprepared for this changeover. There are many things you need to discuss with your IT services company to be sure that you’re aware of the risks and prepared for change.

• Outdated servers leave your entire system at risk due to obsolete, faulty software and unpatched security vulnerabilities

• Running on old hardware means running the risk of massive downtime and data loss due to failure

• Third party products in use throughout your office that are being used with Windows Server 2003 will likely no longer be supported

• Compliance policies have clauses stating that you must update your servers for critical threats. Windows Server 2003 won’t have any updates available after July 15, 2015, resulting in compliance problems that could lead to major fines

• Choosing an approach to lessen the risks with switching over can be difficult and is dependent on the IT environment

Don’t wait until the last minute and leave your entire IT environment at risk. To start putting a plan in place to get your business ready for the changeover, contact Vertical IT at info@verticalitcorp.com or by phone at (888) 505-8215.