Windows Server 2003 End of Life and your SMB Customers

  • Article
 Jeff 400x400
Jeff Stoffel

As many of you are well aware, the End of Life for the Windows Server 2003 family of products is July 14, 2015. On this date, all support for Windows Server 2003, including R2, will cease. This is a great opportunity to support SMB customers in their migration to Windows Server 2012 R2, Microsoft Azure, as well as Microsoft Cloud WS EOLServices, like Office 365. Windows Server 2003 End of Support is an opportunity for innovation. The advancements in IT since 2003 means that customers have more opportunities to innovate and adopt not only the benefits that come from Windows Server 2012 R2, but the adoption of cloud computing solutions within a hybrid environment.  Ensure your customers are aware of the rich set of features and capabilities available to meet your SMB customers changing requirements. 

Windows Server 2003 was released in April 2003.  Here’s a few things to consider about the technology landscape in 2003:

  • 32-bit processors were the standard (x86 servers); x64 processors were just coming to market.
  • Server processors were single core and started at 133 Megahertz. (Compare that with your phone and tablet…)
  • Power Management on servers was nearly non-existent.
  • .Net 1.0 was released
  • Hard drives were measured in megabytes.
  • Solid State Disks (SSDs) didn’t exist.
  • Virtualization was a science project being used in test labs. There was no hardware support for virtualization.
  • Clouds were described as cumulus, stratus, cirrus and nimbus, not public, private and hybrid.

We’ve come a long way since then.  Now is the perfect time to reach out to your customers to discuss their plans for Windows Server 2003 end of life along with how you can assist with the transition.  It is likely many of you customers are not prepared for the transition and will welcome your assistance.

Steps

Technorati Tags: Windows Server 2003,WS2003 EOL,Azure,O365,2012 R2,Jeff Stoffel,TS2