If you’re a business owner or an individual, the news of the last several PCTech ENewsletters regarding the end of Windows XP, the probable need for new PCs and the resulting risks of out-of-date virus and malware products, may have you reeling – to say the least. Fasten your seatbelts; we’re not done yet.
The Black Hole with a Silver Lining
You may feel like your technology budget is a huge black hole – sucking hard-earned revenue into upgrades, new software and trained personnel. The reality is that technology doesn’t stand still. It’s constantly improving, not with gimmicks and fluff, but with improvements that help you and your business. PCTech is not underestimating the cost to your budget and to your workforce in leaving Windows XP and moving to a new operating system and hardware. It may seem bleak, but the silver lining is these upgrades will help you work more effectively, provide greater value to your customers and keep your business more secure against viruses and hackers. You just can’t afford not to do it.
The Server as a Silver Platter
Your server is the base of your IT operations – the silver platter on which everything else is served to you. The inevitable change to a new operating system is going to require much more of your server so it’s important for that platter to be strong and functional for anything you want it to carry.
Microsoft has determined that Windows Server 2003 cannot support either the Windows 7 or Windows 8 operating systems well and has recently announced that as of July 14, 2015, they will no longer support Server 2003. Microsoft has warned that continued use of Server 2003 will lead to “bottlenecks” in your server functionality. Their recommendation is to begin the process of switching to Small Business 2011 or Server 2012.
Can’t I Just Shine Up My Old Platter?
Some of you may wonder about upgrading or rebuilding your current server rather than installing a new server. While that route has worked in the past with minor patches and upgrades, this time it might prove to be the costlier decision. Sys-admin Trevor Pott wrote recently in The Register, “To run a secure IT infrastructure – and increasingly to meet the legal and regulatory requirements of many jurisdictions – you will have to pour resources into monitoring and shielding any servers running Server 2003. You will also have to work on separating the data and applications from the operating system so that you can nuke the server back to “known good” when the system falls to the inevitable.”
So the bottom line is that by continuing to use Server 2003 after July 14, 2015, you could wind up having to dedicate more resources to maintaining an old server with extremely limited functionality and an incredibly high security risk.
I Don’t Think I Even Need A Server…Do I?
If you’ve wondering about the benefits of a server or been trying to compare Cloud vs Server options for your growing technology needs, check out our analysis of both products from previous articles: https://pctechrx.com/article.asp?articleID=40 and https://pctechrx.com/article.asp?articleID=30
Let Us Help!
PCTech knows that moving to a new server can be a big deal and requires detailed implementation planning. We want to start the process with you now so that we can help you minimize the impact on your business and maximize the benefits of new technology. We’ll make sure you have a silver platter for a server – one that will serve you and your business well, both now and in the future. Contact us for a consultation at 636-464-2400.