Microsoft Windows Server 2012/ Windows Server 2012 r2 is coming end of Life in Q3 2023, with the last security patch being released on the 10th of October 2023. Those who don’t upgrade their systems will have their support discontinued, will no longer be eligible for security updates and may have productivity issues as the aged hardware has a higher incidence of hardware failure. Those in the finance sector have added compliance issues with outdated software. Our biggest worry is the security factor. Like with Windows 7 in the past, hackers will deliberately target Windows Server 2012 instances because of its vulnerabilities.

Windows Server 2012 End of Life

Everything you need to know to upgrade

Our role is to guide you through the options and give you an upgrade roadmap that suits your organisation and IT budgets. There are several options to consider. Note that we have not included installing a new operating system on the existing hardware because we never recommend investing in old hardware.

Migration Options

Project Expectations

Upgrade projects always carry an air of nervousness. Users can sometimes be opposed to change, and business owners often don’t want to disturb the business’s operations. To allay any fears, it is essential to know that each Cloud project is managed using a defined methodology;

1. The requirements phase – During this phase of the project, the supportIT Cloud team will agree on the project’s parameters. Key stakeholders should get involved at this stage to ensure that all the organisation’s requirements are met. The data is reviewed, and the data structure is agreed upon during this phase. Security is also discussed; access levels, security policies and usage policies. And finally, key timelines and deliverables are agreed upon so everyone knows what to expect from the project.
2. Migration Phase – During this phase, the data is migrated into the new format, and the old server is decommissioned. At this stage, licenses will also have to be upgraded, and all devices that are linked to the old server need to be linked to the new environment at user level.
3. Security Lockdown Phase – Access levels and security policies are applied. When hosting data in the Cloud, there are added opportunities to lock down that data. This isn’t possible when the data is hosted on a server. For example, conditional access policies, 2FA, Data Loss Prevention
4. Training Phase – We recognise that Cloud might be a new way for users to work, so we build a training session into the project. We can take a train-the-trainer approach or train the whole organisation over TEAMs.

 

Cloud Projects

Typically, Cloud project can take anywhere from 3 to 10 days depending on the organisation’s size, existing infrastructure in place, and type of solution.

supportIT are Microsoft gold partners for Cloud Productivity and have the experience of over 50 Cloud migrations behind us. Our Cloud services team will discuss your users and how they interact with the system (remote or all office based/normal working hours or 24-hours). Business applications in use will also be a key discussion point because they will define which Cloud path you take. The type of data in use is also a consideration and existing folder structures. And finally the all-important security piece; what levels of security does your business require.We are keenly aware that changes like these can be frustrating when you just want to get on with running your business. Let us guide you through it and make sure there is as disruptive as possible.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss your Microsoft 2012 upgrade please contact Ivana at ivladar@supportIT.ie