Part 1: SMBs Have a Cloud-First Answer For Windows Server 2003 End-of-Life

Microsoft ends its support for Windows Server 2003 on July 14, 2015, affecting 24 million systems, most of those belonging to SMBs, according to Microsoft statistics. The retirement of this product offers SMBs the opportunity to restructure their technology environments to better maximize cash flow, provide better access to applications and files their workforce needs, and provide improved network security.

In the past, such a major technology change meant expensive upgrades for SMBs. But the business environment has changed greatly since Windows Server 2003 debuted. To survive the economic downturn of the end of the last decade, SMBs eliminated most or all of their IT staff as part of expense reduction efforts leveraging MSPs. Today, remote workforces and distributed organizations are commonplace. Smartphones, tablets and laptops that connect via readily accessible high-speed wireless broadband networks have created a new breed of mobile worker who aren’t tethered to their offices. This enhanced mobility also enables workers and managers to connect with their offices, each other, and their customers anywhere, anytime, and on any device. The speed of technology changes continues to accelerate as well.

The SMBs of the 1990s relied on the Internet, Microsoft Windows 3.1 and Office, as well as PCs, but today’s leading SMBs are those that make the most of mobility and apps. Yet 60 percent of SMBs don’t have the resources to implement new technology or applications.

So to stay competitive, SMBs need to transform the way they purchase and consume their mission-critical technologies and applications. But purchasing and maintaining hardware and applications in a centralized office doesn’t make sense from a resource perspective.

SMBs become stripped of their limited capital when having to make large investments in technologies and applications that quickly become outdated. Additionally, SMBs have little or no IT staff to install and maintain equipment and applications. Consider all of the time it takes to install all of the necessary applications on every laptop, tablet, and smartphone (and any remaining PCs). And don’t forget about making sure all of the data on those devices is kept secure at all times.

You can still have the latest technology and applications, but rather than paying for them in one lump sum at installation, you can, instead, pay for them as you consume resources, relying on a managed services provider that you can trust. Of course, this is known as an IT-as-a-Service environment. Adopting this model allows an SMB to invest in additional technology as the business grows. The applications and data are maintained in the cloud, so they remain up to date and secure without the need to constantly install upgrades, patches, or purchase newer versions.

So, as SMBs evaluate the best way to address the sunsetting of Windows Server 2003, they should strongly consider switching to a model where they pay for IT technology as they need it, thereby maximizing the use of their capital andtime. This new ITaaS consumption model, will enable SMBs to achieve their workforce mobility objectives, pay for value as consumed, to access all their applications and data, from the cloud, enabled by you, their trusted ITaaS provider.

The second article in this series will discuss how SMBs can better protect their data and remain compliant in a cloud-based environment rather than an installed environment. For more information, go to https://secaas.sonicwall.com/.