Microsoft will no longer support Windows Server 2003 as from today and, despite knowing of the impending date for some time, many companies remain ill-prepared for the switch.
Although some companies rushed to migrate to a newer platform because of security worries, analysts are warning that there's still some way to go before adoption is where it should be.
"The termination of Windows Server 2003 has left many enterprises in a race against the clock before the system's security updates become obsolete," Andrew Avanessian, vice president at Avecto said.
"As they would with any operating system that provides zero security support, a business that runs on Server 2003 will effectively be a sitting duck - an easy target for hackers and malware. Adding to the vulnerability is the fact that these operating systems were deployed in an era where full admin rights were acceptable; this world has drastically changed."
A study by Camwood revealed that 70 per cent of companies are not properly prepared for the switch to Server 2012 and this could have detrimental effects on operations.
"By failing to make the switch to a newer operating system, whether that's Server 2008, 2012 or a cloud-based alternative, businesses are also opening themselves up to a number of legal challenges, falling out of compliance and risking potentially hefty fines," said Adrian Foxall, CEO of Camwood.
"At the end of the day, this isn't just bad IT practice, it's also bad for business."
Camwood `lso predicts that if companies haven't already started the changeover to Server 2008 or Server 2012, it will take them another three years to complete the migration, intensifying the problems and making them open to security risks for a long time to come.
Avanessian warned companies that haven't started the switch should consider doing so now, while also putting the processes in place to limit the threat of any security breach.
"Server administrators in particular should use this migration period as a catalyst for the standard user revolution by implementing privilege management with application control," he said.
