After July 14, 2015, Microsoft will no longer issue fixes or updates for anyone running a Windows Server 2003. And while this isn’t new news – they’ve been warning customers for months – if you are still running Windows 2003, it could have major impact on your business.
End of support means that while you can continue to use the product unsupported, you will no longer receive any kind of update, including security updates, for free from Microsoft. Only customers who pay for custom contracts and who adhere to a phase out schedule for the unsupported software will be eligible to continue to get updates designated as critical.
When you use a product unsupported, you put your company data at risk. Because no work is being done to prevent security breaches, it makes it more vulnerable for hackers with malicious intent. And where hackers have opportunity, they will take it whenever they can.
Whether you’ve been contemplating alternatives for a while within your company, or you’re quickly trying to make decisions now that the deadline is finally here, one option you have is to move your business to the cloud.
Cloud computing simply means accessing your files and programs from a computer server that isn’t in your physical office. The server may be in a warehouse across the city, or in a building thousands of miles away.
More and more, we access almost everything we do via an Internet connection. You access your Gmail, your Facebook, even Dropbox and more by logging into the Internet and accessing your files through a server in another location. “The cloud” simply allows you to transfer all of your programs and data to locations safe and secure, without having to take on the responsibility in-house. It gives you access to data from anywhere in the world; you simply have to login. That makes it more efficient whether you’re sitting in your office accessing through a laptop, traveling across town with your smartphone, or hopping a plane to another country with your tablet device in tow.
Because we’re moving to a cloud-based society, you’ll find everything you do can be accessible via a cloud-based application:
- Accounting
- Billing
- General productivity
- Industry specific programs
- Conference calls
Even disaster planning can occur via the cloud, letting you backup important documents on a frequency that’s right for you. Then no matter when you need it, or what location you need it from, you’ll have unaffected data ready and accessible when you need it most.
Of course one of the biggest concerns when moving from an internal server to a cloud-based system is the comfortability factor of entrusting files to the cloud. After all, security breaches are reported all the time. It’s important to find a cloud-based business you can trust, one that has the right security measures in place, transmits and stores data with proper encryption, and performs safety audits on a regular basis.
Are you still using a Windows Server 2003 in your office? Still have questions about transitioning from an in-house server to the cloud? Let’s talk today.
