Bastille Day for Windows Server 2003
Source: Wikipedia
On July 14, 1789, commoners of Paris stormed the Bastille which was a prison fortress that represented royal atrocities. The event was the flashpoint for the French revolution. Some historians claim the turmoil erupted from the extreme strife of the people and exorbitant taxes demanded to pay for French participation in our own revolution to be celebrated in just a few days.
It probably wasn’t until afterward, that someone from Microsoft realized the new date for the end of support for Windows 2003 was Bastille Day (July 14, 2015). At the end of 2012, we began warning customers about the demise of Windows Server 2003. Like most Microsoft software, there was a standard 10 year Windows Server 2003 lifecycle. However, as another beloved product by customers, Microsoft extended the deadline 2 more years.
The passing is bittersweet for Matrixforce too. In 2003, Matrixforce became Oklahoma’s first and only Microsoft Gold Partner in Security. We were also selected as one of just 30 partners nationally to be pre-trained in Redmond and deploy to key customers before general availability. A dozen years later, neither the accolade or technology is relevant.
After July 14, 2015, you can no longer get support from Microsoft for any hardware or applications running Windows Server 2003.
If you’re running Windows Server 2003, you’re at high risk. It’s simply time to buy new hardware and migrate to current technology. Before you complain about the perils of capitalism and any related outrages, it’s time to listen.
The one irony of July 14, 2015 is the quiet revolution. Last fall, Microsoft published an innocuous blog post called Introducing Windows 10 for Business. Buried in the marketing hype was the over used phrase and section titled “Continuous Innovation”. What it really meant was that Windows 10 is the last version of Windows. Also, new features and updates would be provided as available in a fast ring distribution or a monthly later if chosen by customers in a slow ring wave. Everything you’ve known for the last 20 years about Patch Tuesday or corresponding upgrade strategies are gone.
So what? Well, that same concept is sure to be applied to all Microsoft software starting with Windows Server next. Let that revolution sink in. You’ll always be current. Your main application developers will want to get to a common platform and stay there to ease development costs and keep you as a customer.
Your pain point shifts from massive capital expenditures and business disruption every 3 – 5 years to managing incremental change and planned obsolescence hardware. That’s why we strongly recommend customers migrate to Windows Server 2012 R2 and be prepared for the new revolution.
