Survey: Windows Server 2003 End of Life Represents a $100 Billion Opportunity for the Technology Industry

AUSTIN, TX--(Marketwired - Mar 18, 2015) - Spiceworks, the professional network for IT, today announced the results of a new report, "The Great IT Upgrade," that examines the financial and technology impact Windows Server 2003 end of life will have on IT departments.

Sixty-one percent of companies in the Spiceworks network have at least one instance of Windows Server 2003 running within their environment, representing millions of installations across both physical and virtualized infrastructures. According to the report, companies are allocating an average of $60,000 for use in migration-related projects. In total, Windows Server 2003 end of life represents a $100 billion opportunity for migration-related solutions including the purchase of new technology hardware, software, cloud-based solutions, and associated services.

"This migration will impact millions of IT professionals and nearly every technology segment including hardware, software, cloud, mobile and services," said Sanjay Castelino, VP of Marketing at Spiceworks. "IT professionals are taking steps to migrate prior to the end of life deadline and technology companies who can offer a clear, elegant migration path have a multi-billion dollar opportunity to help IT departments transition effectively."

The survey found a majority of IT professionals have started the migration process in advance of the July 14, 2015 deadline. Fifteen percent of respondents have fully migrated their environment while 48 percent have partially migrated and 28 percent remain in the planning stages. Eight percent of IT professionals have no plans to migrate at all. Of those who plan to keep Windows Server 2003 after end of life, 85 percent cited concerns with security vulnerability, 72 percent were concerned with software compatibility, and 66 percent cited concerns with compliance risks.

"As an IT professional, my job is to make sure our workplace remains secure, up-to-date, and risk free," said Nigel Hickey, Infrastructure Administrator at National Specialty Alloys. "Running an unsupported OS without available patches along with the possibility of zero-day threats targeted at those systems, just doesn't jive with the way I like to run my network. The key lesson here is to just be prepared because taking the steps to migrate now will save lots of headaches in the future."

Windows Server 2012 R2 is the clear operating system of choice for those migrating

Sixty-four percent of IT professionals are planning to migrate from Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2012 R2 and 14 percent are planning to migrate to Windows Server 2012. When asked why, 56 percent of respondents reported they're moving to the latest version of Windows Server, 39 percent cited software standardization and ease of management, 37 percent said they already own Windows Server 2012 licenses, 37 percent cited features and functionality, and 36 percent are seeking additional virtualization capabilities.

Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2008 were cited by 39 percent and six percent of IT professionals respectively as their migration paths of choice. Nine percent of respondents said they plan to migrate to Linux/CentOS.

Virtualization leads the way in terms of migration approaches

Seventy-four percent of IT professionals who are either fully, partially, or planning to migrate, plan to move applications currently running on Windows Server 2003 to a virtualized environment. Of those, 34 percent plan to move applications from a physical to a new virtual environment while 31 percent will be moving applications from a physical to an existing virtualized server. Twenty-three percent plan to move their applications from an existing virtualized server to another virtualized server, and 22 percent plan to move applications from an existing virtualized server to a new virtualized server.

Respondents also cited plans to purchase hardware and software as part of the migration process. Thirty percent of respondents plan to purchase new physical servers and operating systems, and 16 percent plan to purchase standalone server software for existing hardware. Only 12 percent of respondents plan to move to a cloud/hosted solution.

Windows Server 2003 will remain in place for some

Twenty-two percent of IT professionals said they don't plan to upgrade every system currently running Windows Server 2003. Those who are not fully migrated cite lack of time and budget constraints as key barriers to full migration.

Methodology
The survey was conducted in January 2015 and included over 1,300 respondents from North America, EMEA, and APAC who migrated a Windows Server 2003 server in the last year or currently have a Windows Server 2003 server running on their network. Respondents are among the 6 million IT professionals in Spiceworks and represent a variety of company sizes including small-to-medium businesses as well as enterprises. Respondents come from a variety of industries including manufacturing, healthcare, non-profits, education, government, IT service providers, and finance.

About Spiceworks Voice of IT
The Spiceworks Voice of IT market insights program publishes statistics, trends, and opinions collected from IT professionals worldwide. More than 620,000 IT professionals in over 100 countries have joined the program to share information and feedback on the technology issues that are important to them.

About Spiceworks
Spiceworks is the professional network 6 million IT professionals use to connect with one another and thousands of technology brands. The company simplifies how IT professionals discover, buy, and manage more than $600 billion in technology products and services each year. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Spiceworks is backed by Adams Street Partners, Austin Ventures, Institutional Venture Partners (IVP), Goldman Sachs, Shasta Ventures, and Tenaya Capital. For more information visit http://www.spiceworks.com.

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