Much like Windows 7, support for Windows Server 2008 is quickly drawing to a close. End of life for both Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2 will be officially landing on Jan. 14, 2020. What does this mean for your business? Is there another option? How can you prepare for the transition to a new service? There’s very little time left, but we’re here to help.
Make the Switch to Microsoft Azure
Put simply, Microsoft Azure is the next iteration of Windows Server. The key difference is its heavy emphasis on public cloud computing, utilizing Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS). These services provide analytics, virtual computing, storage, networking and much more, and it can all be used to supplement your physical, on-site servers or even replace them entirely.
How Can I Switch to Azure Without Interrupting My Business?
As usual, we can help you through this important transition, making sure to impact your organization’s daily business as little as possible. Microsoft themselves break down the process into four stages:
- Assess
- Migrate
- Optimize
- Secure and manage
Assess
Just like when you’re upgrading your company’s hardware or preparing for the switch to Windows 10 or Office 365, your first step begins with taking stock of your environment. Which applications do you need to migrate? Azure is cloud-based, so which items should move to the cloud and which need to remain in-house? How does your business utilize these applications? What about user authentication? What components of your company need to be prioritized to ensure as smooth a transition as possible? We can help you work out all of these questions and more.
Migrate
There are four widely adopted strategies when you’re ready for the actual migration phase: rehost (also known as “lift and shift”), refactor, rearchitect and rebuild. Which of these methods you use will depend largely on the type of application you’re trying to migrate. For example, apps that require no code changes can simply be rehosted, while more business-critical applications may require the rearchitect method. Each method also requires its own suite of tools. If all of this sounds too technical, don’t worry. That’s precisely what we’re here for.
Optimize
Once the migration phase is complete, things suddenly become a lot easier, and you begin to see why Azure is a much more beneficial option over its Windows Server predecessors. “Optimizing,” the way Microsoft words it, simply refers to transferring your normal day-to-day workloads over to Azure. The end result is, instead of struggling to manage and maintain physical servers, you’re much more simply managing a subscription.
Secure and Manage
Once you finally have everything switched over, all that’s left is to practice good security. There is an entire suite of utilities available to keep your data’s new home secure, such as Azure’s own Security Center. Analytics and health monitoring can (and should) be easily performed on all of your applications and throughout your entire infrastructure — all within real-time. These are services we offer, as well.
2020 is bringing a great deal of change to a lot of people, and not everyone is happy about it. But with change comes growth, and your organization needs to be flexible enough so that it doesn’t get left behind. At V2 Systems, we’re here to help you through these “growing pains,” so that transitioning will be as painless as possible.
Since 1995, Manassas Park, VA-based V2 Systems has employed local systems administrators, network engineers, security consultants, help desk technicians and partnering companies to meet a wide range of clients’ IT needs, from research, to implementation, to maintenance. Concentrate on your VISION…We’ll handle the TECHNOLOGY!
