10 Quick Facts About Windows Server 2003 Migration

Along with partners, such as Dell and Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft has been exhorting solution providers across the channel to drive upgrades to some 20 million plus instances of Windows Server 2003. That comes as a result of Microsoft's plans to cut off free support for Windows Server 2003 by July 14, but the opportunity for the channel may prove to be limited. Indeed, a new global survey of 1,300 IT professionals conducted by Spiceworks, a provider of IT management software, finds that about half of respondents will be upgrading to new instances of Windows Server running on new machines, but only a few plan to rely on the services of solution providers to make the migration. That means that although there is an opportunity for solution providers to resell hardware and software, an expected ability to deliver higher-margin migration services may not ever materialize. All in all, the study finds that companies are allocating an average of $60,000 for use in migration-related projects, suggesting, in total, that Windows Server 2003 represents a $100 billion opportunity for the IT industry as a whole.