Microsoft warns of end of support for Windows Server 2003

Microsoft warns companies that the end of support for Windows Server 2003 is approaching. According to the company, organizations face security risks if they do not migrate. According to recent research, 19 percent of IT professionals would not meet the deadline.

Support for Windows Server 2003 will end on July 14, 2015, warns Takeshi Numoto of Microsoft’s Cloud and Enterprise Marketing division. A survey published last November found that 81 percent of IT professionals still running Windows Server 2003 expect to switch before that date. Of the remaining 19 percent, 8 percent planned to switch, but for 11 percent the migration was still unclear, IT ProPortal wrote at the time. The end of support for Windows XP caused many problems: many systems still run that OS, which Microsoft only updates with patches for a fee.

Microsoft emphasizes that the software will continue to work after July, but that running unpatched software poses major security risks. “Remember that even a single unpatched server can create a point of vulnerability for your entire infrastructure,” Numoto said. In addition, he states that in some countries companies are obliged to ensure adequate protection against known vulnerabilities, and therefore to run updated software.

Microsoft released the OS 12 years ago. “To put that into perspective,” Numoto writes, “my current cell phone has higher specs than Windows Server 2003 originally demanded in terms of memory and processor.”