Government of Canada and Homeland Security Issue Upgrade Warning

TORONTO - March 20, 2015 - PRLog -- The deadline for Microsoft Server 2003 is such a threat, that even the Government of Canada and Homeland Security have issued warnings.

Both public warnings bring attention to the end of life for Microsoft Windows Server 2003 which will be effective on July 14, 2015. After this date, Microsoft will no longer provide automatic fixes, security updates, or online technical assistance for this product.

The Government of Canada took a simplified approach with their Public Safety Canada (http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/)website. On the website, they state that businesses should plan to migrate away from Server 2003 as soon as possible. For complete details, you can view the entire release here, Windows Server 2003 End of Life (http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/cybr-ctr/2014/in14-002-eng.aspx).

As for the United States Government, they took a more detailed approached usingHomeland Security (http://www.dhs.gov/) to issue their warning.  As per the Canadian statement, they have also included some key points on the impact this security threat brings to the table including the fact that unsupported software is exposed to cybersecurity dangers, such as malicious attacks or electronic data loss. Users may also encounter problems with software and hardware compatibility issues and organizations that are governed by regulatory obligations may find they are no longer able to satisfy compliance requirements while running Windows Server 2003. For complete details, you can view the entire release here, Microsoft Ending Support for Windows Server 2003 Operating System – Alert (TA14-310A). (https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/alerts/TA14-310A)

Plan and upgrade Windows Server 2003

Since the launch of Server 2008, there have been many new features and security measures added to Microsoft products.  Now companies can have on premises server with Microsoft Server 2012 or go to the cloud with Azure cloud computing.  You can even do a hybrid cloud approach and put both in play.

Companies should perform a network assessment of their current environment and future business goals.  By performing an assessment, many companies are surprised to find out how many instances of server they are running including the workloads and applications.

By upgrading, there is an endless list of advantages including:

Updated supported operating system from Microsoft.
Access to cloud computing and disaster recovery.
Ability to virtualize an IT environment and reduce power usage and physical footprint.
More scalable solutions for changing business environments.

The deadline is fast approaching and you need to plan and execute your server upgrade plan.

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