Why You Should Consider Dedicated Hosting Following the Windows 2003 End of Support
On July 14th, the long anticipated Windows Server 2003 end of support (EOS) date came and went. If you are one of the many companies that are still running your hardware on the operating system, there are many good reasons you should consider migrating your data to a dedicated server hosting provider.
Microsoft took a long time to call an end to patching and supporting Windows 2003. Following the EOS of Windows XP, and the results of that move, you can’t blame Microsoft for making the same move on WS2003.
Not only has the Redmond, WA software giant stopped creating patches for the server OS, they will also stop issuing warnings about known vulnerabilities. They gave customers long enough upgrade to Server 2012 or another arrangement back in 2013.
If you are at a loss as to whether you should purchase new hardware, with enough capacity to support Windows 2012, or if you simply don’t have the skills or resources to do the upgrade, you should seriously consider contracting dedicated server hosting services, and migrating your data to Server Mania.
Here are some of the many reasons why contracting our services makes more sense than upgrading your server hardware and software, and continuing to manage them yourself:
Security
Managing your own data center can leave you exposed to attacks you may not be able to prevent yourself, such as:
- SQL Injection
- Malware
- Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS)
- Data Modification
- Password-Based
- Man-In-The Middle Attacks
- Sniffer
The constant monitoring, sophisticated equipment, and technical expertise required to keep hackers out of your servers are often too much to bear for small and medium businesses. There are many known WS2003 security vulnerabilities which won’t be fixed.
Why leave your company’s information assets exposed to known vulnerabilities, as hackers troll the internet, seeking companies that haven’t migrated?
Mitigate your risk by entrusting your data to our highly trained security experts. You won’t find any other providers who are confident enough in their services to offer a 100% up-time Service Level Agreement!
Eliminate the Burden of Future EOS/EOL Cycles
In a few years, the next round of end of support/end of life announcements will take place, and Windows Server 2008 will move into its “twilight years”. Keeping up with all the upgrades can be daunting, including
- OS upgrades
- Databases versions
- Applications updates and patches
When you move your data to Server Mania, our Support Fleet can worry about keeping your infrastructure up to date, providing you with superior technical assistance, and helping you access your data where, and when you need it.
Many application vendors no longer support Windows Server 2003, or will drop that support soon enough. Scrambling to upgrade your server operating system and applications all at once is no fun at all, especially if your IT personnel is already working on keeping your other systems running!
Avoid Carrier or Vendor Lock In
With ServerMania, you can select from services based on Linux or Windows, and you can choose from multiple telecommunications carriers. Avoiding the high costs of powering and cooling your data center can provide a strong case for migrating your data to Server Mania’s data centers in Chicago, Atlanta, Buffalo or Los Angeles. If you need to provide data access to clients or partners in Asia Pacific, shifting from your own hardware to our LA data center is much easier for companies across the United States who are looking for high availability in China, Japan or South Korea.
Decommission Under-Utilized Resources
You might currently be running older dedicated Windows 2003 servers, serving data and content to a much smaller audience than your hardware is capable of managing. Under utilized hardware takes up more power, rack space and requires more maintenance than the value it provides. Migrating to virtual private servers can be a more efficient and affordable arrangement. Our skilled technicians can establish virtual servers for your data which will result in a more efficient hosting environment for your critical business information.
Don’t be paralyzed by the fear of what to do if you are still running hardware on Windows Server 2003. Opportunistic hackers constantly seek networks built on vulnerable, out-of-date server infrastructure. Contracting with Server Mania eases the pressures involved with unsupported operating systems, emerging security threats, and concerns over technology which is under, or over utilized.
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