Migration from Windows 2003: Time to Act
If Windows 2003 is the skeleton in your closet, the time has come to wave goodbye as the bell tolls for this OS in 2015. As the average Windows Server 2003 migration can take many weeks to complete, it is imperative, and we repeat, imperative that businesses take the initiative to act sooner rather than later to protect your infrastructure, and avoid rising costs and problems with application performance. The end of support date is on the 14th July 2015. We say budget and organise now.
It’s been a great operating system and it’s hard to let go. We know. We’re all excited by change yet when it comes to actually having to change something ourselves then the majority of us would much prefer to sit back and spectate. Change, however is something that we must now welcome with open arms. Here’s some of our top tips to ensure that your Windows 2003 Migration acts as a catalyst for positive change in your business.
- Plan the Migration in alignment with your long term Business Vision
What’s your strategic vision for the IT Department? You may be aiming to become more responsive or perhaps you’re looking to drive innovation forward with the goal of saving your business from drowning in the sea of sameness? All of a sudden the migration transforms into a fantastic opportunity to turn your department into the vehicle to reach your goals.
Revisit your to do list with a clear view of your IT lifecycle and business goals in mind. You’ll need to ‘touch up’ on the majority of your hardware and applications. Don’t miss out on the chance to reconfigure your data centre infrastructure, expand virtualisation and automation and modernise your applications. Just make sure you have all of the necessary information and reports on hand in place so you can move forward with minimum disruption. HP Discovery and Dependence Software are fantastic automated tools that can be utilised to speed up the process.
- Get it right the first time
Whilst taking a short-cut may be a tempting solution to save precious time and eliminate stress, remember that a short-cut is called a short-cut for good reason: It’s a near to dead end solution which in the end will take longer and cost more.
It may be beneficial to conduct a thorough inventory of your environment. Hardware, software, inventory facilities and skills are all part of your housekeeping process and may well have been neglected in recent months. Next on the hit list, update all inventory: infrastructure application and workload components, servers, storage and workloads. The whole package. It’s a time consuming process but we can guarantee that by taking the time to complete the process, and having an absolutely thorough understanding of where you’re at will ensure the process runs smoothly and efficiently.
- Make your infrastructure as efficient as possible and lose the extras
Whether you’re looking to upgrade to the greatest and latest or choose to migrate to the trusty Windows 2008, migrating from Windows Server 2003 offers businesses a great opportunity to consolidate workloads and reduce unnecessary infrastructure and costs.
An upgrade to new inventory of hardware and software is just the start. By using your IT management tools and seeking user input, it is important you invest your time into understanding not just what is running on your system, but also how much, how and who. Some of your applications could be virtualised without any performance loss, and you may find that as the software world advances, a single core application may now offer the same functionality as three or four sole products installed years ago. De-commissioning some of your software products therefore may prove to be a viable option.
- Hardware acts as the main headliner to the show
One of the most common misconceptions within the IT Industry today is the belief that the platforms and OS’s are so intelligent, they are able to offset the role of hardware. Sorry folks, but even in today’s software dominant world, the role of hardware plays an essential part to computing and storage environments. Enter 2015 and the accessible hardware of today is usually a workload optimized, intelligently managed system: A system that acts as the main headliner to support optimal workload performance and efficient data centre operations.
When the time comes to replace your old servers and storage, it is important that you select the right architecture, design and components to back up your IT objectives & goals. We would also recommend a customised IT investment strategy to compliment this, allowing you to maximise price performance on your servers, increase your speed delivery and reduce complexity. If hardware cost is an issue, you can reduce the large initial outlay by using near new or refurbished servers and upgrades and still achieve a significant increase in productivity, reduced operational costs and energy costs along with increase revenue associated with faster market entry. Win.
- Hire a Helping Hand
There is no reason why you need to do this alone. Sure, some of your existing team may be able to squeeze in a little extra time, but for the majority of IT departments it makes sense to bring in an expert to help in planning and executing a Windows 2003 migration. Touchpoint Technology are on hand to answer all of your IT investment and decommissioning concerns. If you’re currently relying on Windows 2003 as your main OS, we have a whole range of hardware upgrade options for you to consider as part of your migration. Drop us a line on 02 8424 3500