Windows Server 2003 End of Support: Sizing Up Your Options
So you know you have to do something about this but what makes the most sense for you? You could upgrade your data center, move your apps to the cloud, sign a custom service agreement with Microsoft or do nothing and hope for the best.
In part 2 of our 3 part series on Windows Server 2003 End of Support, we lay out all the options. Head over to Vology.com to continue the migration conversation with one of our solutions architects.
MIGRATION PLAN
Obviously there is going to be a lot of dependency checks and diligences that need to be performed, right? Are the applications in use even compatible in a new OS version. What do we have from an inventory perspective? What are our workflows and are they documented? Have we done our application dependency checks?
They say that 60 to 70% of any successful engagement is planning. You've got to go and calculate your costs versus your risk, your TCO, your compliance, potential liabilities, things of that nature. Also take into account any network or hardware upgrades. Your hardware refresh cycles as they stand anyways. Then of course hardware compatibility, like we talked about. Sometimes those legacy OSes and/or applications are not going to be compatible with newer versions and vice versa.
If you have HP in there, HP has programs for their vendors that can help. There's even some pricing benefits. I think one of the biggest and most important pieces is the fact that you're going to have to invest in some infrastructure with 2003, which is why there's so much buzz surrounding this.
Some of us might be avoiding it because of the costs with implementing the hardware that are associated with it. That's an interesting problem. You've got to think about what scenario would put me in that place. If I'm virtualized to some degree, maybe there's something that can be done to resolve it. There's fewer and fewer folks out there that don't support virtualization from an application perspective.
There's a good chance you can figure something out without buying hardware, but if you do, take advantage of the programs that some vendors put out there. The vendor are very motivated to assist getting us to the next level to get this moved over. If you wait until after 2003 in July 15, all these promotions that you get from vendors like HP, they will vanish. What's the point at that point, right?
I think it's very good for someone to take a look at this from a planning perspective because part of planning was the expense. How much is it going to cost me? Couple of other options just to ferret them out. We touched on one, a very expensive option. We'll end on that one because I think that's the one we're going to get a lot of questions on.
CLOUD
The Cloud can even be lumped into the do something migration category because you're still doing something about your legacy OS. You're putting us in a right operating system. You're not doing something to keep Frankenstein alive. You try to keep this whole thing alive where the risk associated with it continues to grow and we continue to procrastinate it like a final exam in college. At this point, the repercussions are much greater than that. I think that's something very important to keep into consideration. There are going to be some of us that just can't for whatever reason, you have a vendor, the only vendor in the whole wide world that does what you needed to do, and you depend on them, and they're not ready to port it over to the newer platform.
Microsoft has a program for that called custom service agreements. Do you think this is a small or mid market program or is it enterprise program?
There is a substantial cost involved. You have to not only have a premium support agreement with Microsoft, you also have to enter into a custom support agreement. You still have to pay for each hot fix and/or security patch that is ultimately coded for you. At the end of the day, Microsoft will not enter into an agreement with you unless you already have a mitigation plan in place to migrate off of 2003.
Coming up next in part 3, we talk about best practices for a successful migration. Stick with us for tips on how to leverage your solutions provider to make sure the process doesn't sting.
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