Migrate from Windows Server 2003 Now

Running Windows Server 2003 and 2003 R2 will be increasingly risky and costly after Extended support ends on July 14, 2015, and Microsoft advises customers to migrate all systems off those OS versions by that date. Organizations should already be migrating systems or implementing plans to mitigate risks in the near term. Plans will depend heavily on what role each system plays in the organization, but prioritizing systems, selecting the right target OS version and hardware, and considering licensing and administrative requirements can help with any migration.

(This report updates “Migrating from Windows Server 2003 and 2003 R2,” originally published on page 3 of the Apr. 2014 Update. It includes new information on roadmap, migration tools, and other topics.)

Some Migration Required

The risks and costs of running Windows Server 2003 and 2003 R2 will rise with the end of Extended support. Organizations can respond by locking down some systems and replacing others with cloud services, but most will still have systems that need to be migrated to a new OS on-premises.