End of Life for Windows 2003 server/Windows 2003 Small Business server

Happy New Year! You may have heard the buzz that Microsoft has announced that come July 2015 Windows Server 2003 will no longer be support by Microsoft. This means that there will be no security patches or Windows updates being developed for deployment by Microsoft.

So what does this mean for you? We recommend that you start looking at upgrading your Windows 2003 Server environment as soon as possible to ensure no downtime or increased risk! We have found that in most environments there are applications that have been running on the existing servers which may never have been compatible with Windows Server 2012. In the case of Windows 2003 Small Business Server it runs Microsoft Active Directory 2003 and Microsoft Exchange Server, and therefore the upgrade is a lot more complicated than the upgrade of Windows Server 2003 – all the more reasons to get started immediately with the upgrade!

Windows Server 2012 does not have a Small Business Server edition, therefore the Active Directory and the Exchange functionality would have to be separated. This means that the Active Directory portion will have to be upgraded to 2012 Server and the Exchange Server upgraded separately. The Exchange Server would have to be repurchased to Exchange Server 2013.

While all this may sound complicated and overwhelming we have experts at Mantralogix that are happy to discuss alternatives with you! Contact us at 1-866-320-8922.