Servers

Server 2012 R2 End of Life: What Now?

Server 2012 R2 End of Life: What Now?

Windows Server 2012 R2 will reach its end of support in October 2023, meaning your business’s infrastructure and applications may be at a higher risk of a cyberattack. To avoid the risk of security breaches or failure to comply with industry regulations, now is the time to transfer your workload to new and supported servers or consider alternatives.

At Kirbtech, we provide comprehensive IT support and services to help your business grow and thrive in an ever-changing digital world. We invite you to contact us today to learn more about our digital solutions and how they can best align with your business goals.

What Windows Server 2012 R2 End of Life Means for Your Business

Regarding Windows Server 2012 end of life, there are many factors your company must weigh. Some of the top considerations for your business include the following:

Inability to Take Advantage of New Features and Functionalities

Every Windows update introduces new capabilities that improve the overall user experience. Staying current with your software allows you to take advantage of any improvements more quickly and enhance the level of service you can provide to your organization.

Increased Risk of Targeted Cyberattacks

Each time a software platform reaches its end of life, you can count on hundreds of cybercriminals waiting to hack into unprotected information. If you wait until the last minute to transfer or perform security updates, there will be a period in which you do not have security, placing your organization at a higher risk of targeted attacks. Many security attacks also become part of the daily news cycle, and clients may hesitate to work with an organization that is a public victim of a cyberattack.

Loss of Support

When Windows Server 2012 reaches its end of life in October 2023, all organizations using it will not have support if an issue or other significant security event occurs. Your organization may be vulnerable to delays and disruptions in its daily workflow when support for Windows Server 2012 ends, as you cannot get immediate help for any issues. Instead, you will have to get a quote from a security company and pay an invoice before receiving the help you need, which can cause significant delays.

Compliance

If your organization must comply with regulations such as the Payment Card Industry (PCI) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), all application and infrastructure workloads must be vendor-supported. With Windows Server end of support, your organization automatically becomes noncompliant due to having unsupported workloads and running applications that no longer meet the scope of compliance regulations. In addition to no longer being compliant, your insurance premiums will increase, as your risk of a security attack is now higher.

What Is the Best End-Of-Life Option for My Business?

To determine the best end-of-life option for your business, you must start by aligning your IT strategy with the time you have left to ensure your infrastructure continues to comply with guidelines. After determining an accurate timeline, consider the best solution for your current company goals:

Identify Your Needs and Constraints

Taking on any significant server upgrade requires finding the right balance of time and skilled employees to make this transition successful. With a server upgrade, you often deal with multiple interconnected systems instead of one system at a time. You may have to consider any budgetary constraints as you identify which systems are a priority and alternate secondary system methods. One of the best ways to remain within your needs and constraints is by carefully planning out the cost, complexity and timeline.

Develop a Strategic Plan

Creating a short- and long-term strategic plan helps you eliminate the unknowns so you can easily see where you need to migrate, upgrade and optimize and how each element affects your entire operation. Some aspects you can address include on-premises and cloud-based workloads and the various benefits your company may be eligible for by utilizing a more modern approach.

Determining if your workload should undergo reconstruction instead of migration or updates can save you from additional management costs to reduce your overall technical debt.

Assess Focus Areas

Assessing your environment can enable you to accurately determine what technical setup you currently have and what aspects you need to prioritize. While you can perform this check yourself, having a third party conduct the scan can offer an unbiased opinion. These scans can help you fully understand all costs and timelines to create an accurate budget.

Looking for Support or Planning on Changing Servers? Kirbtech is Here for You

Since the creation of Kirbtech in 2007, we have been one of the top information technology consulting firms for businesses across Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and beyond. If your company currently uses Windows Server 2012 and is looking for additional support or aiming to change servers, Kirbtech is your go-to choice for comprehensive services.

Our team has years of experience performing various IT services, and we offer honest and reliable support for every client. To learn more about our server capabilities and how we can benefit your company, we invite you to contact us for a quote!

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