Most Companies Won't Complete Windows Server 2003 Upgrades Before End of Support Despite Compliance Requirements, AppZero Survey Says
Andover, MA (PRWEB) February 10, 2015 -- A survey of IT professionals in Fortune 1000 companies released today reports the majority of companies still running Microsoft Windows Server 2003 will not finish their migrations in time for end of support (EOS) on July 14, 2015, despite mandated compliance requirements, such as those governing pharmaceuticals, banking, insurance, as well as any company that processes credit card transactions. Further, with only six months until support ends, the majority of respondents have significant numbers of machines still running WS2003 and almost half of the organizations surveyed still are not aware of, or prepared to deal with, the impending challenge.
The "2014 State of Readiness for Windows Server 2003 EOS Survey" is AppZero's second annual study on how IT professionals are tackling the challenge of Windows Server 2003 end of support. AppZero surveyed close to 500 Fortune 1000 IT professionals throughout 2014 to assess how serious this event is to enterprise IT, determine what preparations are underway and what progress has been made in the year since the first survey findings were published.
The 2014 State of Readiness for Windows Server 2003 EOS Survey reveals that, among those surveyed:
• Almost half (47%) are not aware of the EOS date or have no plans (yet) for remediation
• Only 21% of respondents have a remediation plan in place
• Security compliance and vulnerability management remains the largest concern (>50%)
• Fully one quarter (25%) of respondents still have more than 500+ WS2003 machines
When asked which applications they were most worried about, financial applications topped the list at 33%, the same as when the survey was conducted in 2013. ERP applications (21%) took over the second spot from last year’s second place finisher CRM (20%).
When asked what method of moving to a more modern operating environment was planned, most respondents said they would reinstall applications (32%) or use the Microsoft upgrade path (37%), which recommends uninstalling critical applications, upgrading the machines’ operating system and then reinstalling the applications.
"These two approaches are essentially the same and provide great insight into why most companies will not be finished with their migrations by Windows Server 2003 end of support,” said AppZero CEO Greg O'Connor.
"Remediation is not a question of 'if' but when. The longer it takes, the more the organization will pay due to increased downtimes, failed compliance audits and costs associated with purchasing a Custom Support Agreement from Microsoft. The on-going costs of continuing to run your business on WS 2003 are extremely high and only getting higher as time goes on," O'Connor said. "Don’t delay, start now.”
End of Support for Windows Server 2003 occurs in July 2015. After this date, if a security vulnerability is discovered, Microsoft will no longer patch or address security defects or operational issues. Regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX), Payment Card Industry (PCI DSS), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and Dodd-Frank require certain industries to run on supported platforms.
Download the "2014 State of Readiness for Windows Server 2003 EOS Survey.”
About AppZero:
AppZero (http://www.appzero.com) is the fastest, most flexible way to move server applications to and across any cloud or datacenter, without code change or lock-in. Encapsulating Windows applications in VM/OS-free packages, AppZero’s patented software moves complex server applications with ease. AppZero allows you to move from an old OS to a newer one, with the click of a button - modernize and move to the cloud in one step.
Adine Deford, AppZero, http://www.appzero.com, +1 (617) 820-5126 Ext: 4355, [email protected]
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