Perfect Timing

Most enterprise IT professionals understand the importance of a modernized data center. Unfortunately, trying to convince the C-suite to invest in a new infrastructure can be an exercise in futility.

The pending end of support for Windows Server 2003 on July 14, 2015 provides a rare chance to transform a business challenge into a big break for IT. Armed with the facts and a little bit of business savvy, IT pros now have the perfect opportunity to persuade reluctant business leaders to migrate from an aging platform and embrace emerging technologies.

That bad things will happen if the enterprise clings to Server 2003 should be an easy case to make—because they will over time. Bugs and glitches will destroy files, make data and apps inaccessible, and eventually cause the business to fall out of compliance. This means fines, penalties, auditing services. That’s a lot of hassle for an unsupported software suite. Add in lost business and lower employee satisfaction and you have a real problem on your hands.

Fortunately, the necessity of migrating from Server 2003 arises at a time when cloud computing and other modern technologies are turning data centers from storage repositories into dynamic drivers of business.

Enterprises that move data and apps to the cloud are unconstrained by the space and performance limitations of an on-premise data center. Cloud platforms allow for unlimited storage scalability—a critical feature at a time when data is growing exponentially.

Cloud computing provides the ideal, flexible environment for mobile devices. It enables developers to collaborate more easily and quickly—which means you’re getting products and tools out the door faster. And when utilized properly, the cloud serves as a powerful platform for data analytics that can uncover actionable insights to enterprise decision makers.

Migrating from Server 2003 also offers enterprises an opportunity to deploy virtualization, which can reduce hardware costs and vendor lock-in, as well as make the network more flexible and easier to manage. And by moving apps, infrastructure, and computing platforms to the cloud, enterprise IT functions can be delivered as a service.

Seems like the benefits of upgrading are piling up almost as quickly as the risks of remaining stuck to unsupported legacy technology, doesn’t it?

The data center of tomorrow will be a dispersed and dynamic configuration of technologies designed to make enterprises more agile and employees more productive. For C-level executives counting down the clock on Server 2003 EOL, that’s got to look like a compelling business case.